Germany’s Merkel testifies on alleged U.S. eavesdropping
Published 6:45 am Thursday, February 16, 2017
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel told lawmakers she stands by her 2013 complaint that “spying among friends” is unacceptable as she testified Thursday to a committee examining alleged U.S. surveillance in Germany, as well as questionable activities by German intelligence — which she said she heard about only much later.
The parliamentary panel is investigating alleged eavesdropping in Germany by the U.S. National Security Agency and its relationship with German counterparts. The inquiry was launched a year after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed details of secret U.S. eavesdropping programs in 2013. Merkel is expected to be the last witness.
Reports later in 2013 that the NSA listened in on German government phones, including Merkel’s, prompted a diplomatic spat between Berlin and Washington that soured otherwise good relations with the Obama administration.
Merkel declared at the time that “spying among friends” was unacceptable. But subsequent reports indicated that Germany’s own BND intelligence agency may have helped the U.S. spy on European companies and officials.
Merkel testified that she first heard about the BND’s alleged activities in March 2015, sticking to a line set out by other officials. And she said she stood by her comment from 2013.