EC urges Germany to shed light on Brussels spy row

The head of the European Commission (EC), Jean-Claude Juncker, has called on Germany to resolve a Brussels espionage scandal after German intelligence service reportedly spied on the EC on behalf of the US.

"I do not know if German agents are active here. I know from personal experience that (the secret services) are very difficult to be kept under control. The German authorities will have to deal with that and I expect they will," Juncker said Thursday in a press briefing.

His remarks came as the snooping scandal marked a turnaround for Berlin which has long been depicted as a victim of surveillance by its allies. According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily, German intelligence services had carried out "political espionage" on the European Commission and top French authorities.

The newspaper said Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency assisted the notorious US National Security Agency (NSA) in carrying out "political espionage" by keeping under surveillance "top officials at the French Foreign Ministry, the Elysee Palace and European Commission."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose own mobile phone was also monitored by US surveillance operations, found herself embarrassed earlier this week when the local Bild daily reported that her office had been notified in 2008 of Berlin's involvement in the US espionage efforts but did nothing.

"I don't have any intelligence evidence about what was happening in Germany, so it would be irresponsible to give you a clear-cut answer to this.... This will have to be sorted out by the Germans, including parliamentary authorities, and we will see," Juncker said.

Germany was irritated after 2013 revelations by fugitive US intelligence whistleblower, Edward Snowden, that the NSA was involved in massive Internet and phone data surveillance, including in Germany.

MFB/KA/SS

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