EU leaders confront US over spy claims

THE European Union has demanded that the United States explain a report in a German magazine that Washington is spying on the group, using strong language to confront its closest trading partner over its alleged surveillance activities.

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said yesterday that US authorities were immediately contacted about a report in Der Spiegel that the US spy agency had tapped EU offices in Washington, Brussels and at the United Nations.

‘‘As soon as we saw these reports, the European External Action Service made contact with the US authorities in both Washington DC and Brussels to seek urgent clarification of the veracity of, and facts surrounding, these allegations,’’ Ashton said in a statement.

‘‘The US authorities have told us they are checking on the accuracy of the information released yesterday and will come back to us as soon as possible.’’

France also asked for an explanation.

‘‘These acts, if confirmed, would be completely unacceptable,’’ Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.

The US Government said it would respond through diplomatic channels. ‘‘We will also discuss these issues bilaterally with EU member states,’’ a spokesman for the Director of National Intelligence said.

‘‘While we are not going to comment publicly on specific alleged intelligence activities, as a matter of policy we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations.’’

The Guardian said in an article yesterday that the United States had also targeted non-European allies for spying.

Citing a September 2010 NSA document, the British newspaper said: ‘‘Along with traditional ideological adversaries and sensitive Middle Eastern countries, the list of targets includes the EU missions and the French, Italian and Greek embassies, as well as a number of other American allies, including Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India and Turkey.’’

Der Spiegel reported on Sunday that the National Security Agency bugged EU offices and gained access to EU internal computer networks, the latest revelation of alleged US spying that has prompted outrage from EU politicians.

The magazine followed up yesterday with a report that the US agency taps half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in

‘These acts, if confirmed, would be completely unacceptable.’ French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius

Germany in a typical month, much more than any other European peer and similar to the data tapped in China or Iraq.

‘‘If the media reports are correct, this brings to memory actions among enemies during the Cold War. It goes beyond any imagination that our friends in the United States view the Europeans as enemies,’’ said German Justice Minister Sabine LeutheusserSchnarrenberger.

‘‘If it is true that EU representations in Brussels and Washington were indeed tapped by the American Secret Service, it can hardly be explained with the argument of fighting terrorism,’’ she said in a statement.

Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office, which has authority in matters of national security, said it was looking into whether or not it should start an investigation.

Criminal charges were expected to be filed, spokeswoman Frauke Koehler said.

Martin Schulz, president of the EU Parliament and also a German, said if the report was correct it would have a ‘‘severe impact’’ on relations between the EU and the United States.

He told French radio the United States had crossed a line.

‘‘I was always sure that dictatorships, some authoritarian systems, tried to listen . . . but that measures like that are now practiced by an ally, by a friend, that is shocking, in the case that it is true,’’ Schulz said in an interview with France 2.

Some EU policymakers said talks on a free trade agreement between Washington and the EU should be put on ice until further clarification from the United States.