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Merkel: US spying has shattered allies' trust

Brussels : European leaders united in anger as they attended a summit overshadowed by reports of widespread U.S. spying on its allies—allegations German Chancellor Angela Merkel said had shattered trust in the Obama administration and

India TV News Desk Updated on: October 25, 2013 11:05 IST

“We want the truth,” Italian Premier Enrico Letta told reporters. “It is not in the least bit conceivable that activity of this type could be acceptable.”


Echoing Merkel, Austria's foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, said, “We need to re-establish with the U.S. a relationship of trust, which has certainly suffered from this.”

France, which also vocally objected to allies spying on each other, asked that the issue of reinforcing Europeans' privacy in the digital age be added to the agenda of the two-day summit. Before official proceedings got under way, Merkel held a brief one-on-one with French President Francois Hollande, and discussed the spying controversy.

After summit talks that lasted until after 1 a.m. Friday, Herman Van Rompuy, European Council president, announced at a news conference that France and Germany were seeking bilateral talks with the United States to resolve the dispute over electronic spying by “secret services” by the end of this year.

“What is at stake is preserving our relations with the United States,” Hollande told reporters at his own early-morning news conference. “They should not be changed because of what has happened. But trust has to be restored and reinforced.”
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