US spy row threatens Cameron’s plans for a shake- up of the EU
DAVID Cameron was facing a diplomatic nightmare last night after a spying row threatened to wreck his plans for a blitz on European Union meddling.
The Prime Minister arrived at an EU summit to find the talks dominated by allegations that American spies snooped on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone calls.
The claims led to calls for talks on a new trade deal between the EU and US – a key plank of Mr Cameron’s plans for the UK to build a new relationship with Brussels – to be suspended.
He was forced to resist calls from fellow EU leaders for new data protection rules that could cost British business hundreds of millions of pounds.
And he was in danger of being dragged into the spying row over allegations – based on claims by American intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden – that UK agents eavesdropped on the Italian government and passed information to the White House.
Italian Premier Enrico Letta said: “It is inconceivable and unacceptable that there should be acts of espionage of this type.”
The spat overshadowed Mr Cameron’s plans to use the summit in Brussels to launch a cull of EU red tape – and risked damaging his alliance with Mrs Merkel.
She demanded a “complete explanation” from US President Barack Obama of suggestions that her phone calls were routinely monitored by US spies.
Mrs Merkel said as she arrived at the summit: “It’s really not on for friends to spy on each other.
“It’s not just about me but about every German citizen. We need to have trust in our allies and partners,
US President Obama ‘ has to explain’ and this trust must now be established once again.”
US officials said her calls were not being monitored and would not be in future but declined to deny snooping had taken place in the past.
A senior member of her Christian Democrat Union party called for the trade talks to be suspended because of data protection concerns.
Gunther Kirschbaum said: “Wire
Merkel fears calls were monitored tapping is an outright scandal.” Other EU leaders rallied around Germany in the row. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: “This is not acceptable.”
However, Mr Cameron was resisting EU plans for tougher data protection rules and could even be forced to use his veto to wreck them.
One Downing Street aide said: “They are asking for unrealistic things.” British officials said the proposed rules could add £ 360million a year to UK business costs, largely falling on small firms.
A collapse in the trade talks is likely to lead to more calls from Tory backbenchers for Britain to quit the EU to gain freedom to make its own trade deals. SHADOW Chancellor Ed Balls was yesterday accused of talking down the economy as figures revealed Britain’s manufacturing sector is roaring back to life.
Car production soared last month, with more than a million cars produced so far in 2013, while figures out today are expected to show a third successive quarter of growth.
Economists predict output for the three months to the end of September will have increased by 0.8 per cent in another boost for Chancellor George Osborne.
But the Shadow Chancellor was unmoved by the expected news.
While welcoming the anticipated figures from the Office for National Statistics, Mr Balls warned that soaring house prices and low wages mean “for millions this is no recovery at all”.
He added: “The Prime Minister and Chancellor are still making the wrong calls and failing the British people.”
Conservative MP Nick de Bois dismissed the attack, saying: “Conservatives have stuck to our economic plan and it is working.
“Our economy is turning the corner, with 1.4million new private sector jobs. This is the only way of raising living standards.”