Joaquín Almunia attacks UK and US over phone tapping claims
By Alex Barker in Brussels Europe’s
top competition enforcer has scolded Britain and the US for failing to
apologise or address claims that his phone was tapped by their
intelligence services.
In
his first comments on the spying incident since the allegations emerged
in December, Joaquín Almunia said he was “surprised” to have been
targeted and even more angered by the lack of official response.
“I’m
deeply upset, not only because I have received no explanation or regret
but also because I believe as a democrat that these activities should
be illegal,” he told reporters.
The
claims are extremely awkward for Britain, as they for the first time
implicate London in directly tapping the phone of a senior EU official
or politician. Mr Almunia was one of Britain’s best allies in the
commission and is overseeing critical UK cases, including the approval of the new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point.
As
competition commissioner, Mr Almunia has one of the most commercially
sensitive briefs in Brussels, prompting speculation that the
eavesdropping was economic espionage for the benefit of domestic
companies.
However,
on Wednesday he said that reporters investigating the incident showed
him a timeline of tapping that revealed the incidents occurred under his
previous role as the EU’s economics and monetary affairs commissioner.
This
left Mr Almunia “even more surprised” because the US and UK could have
easily listened to his frequent public statements to hear his views on
the EU economy. He said the activities “cannot be justified”.
Mr
Almunia covered the economics portfolio until 2010 – during which time
the first signs emerged of the dire economic problems facing Greece,
which went on to require two eurozone bailouts.
The
European Commission reacted furiously last month and singled out
British involvement, saying it was “not the type of behaviour that we
expect from strategic partners, let alone our own member states”.
The
claims come as part of a joint investigation by the Guardian, Der
Spiegel and the New York Times based on revelations from documents dated
from 2008 to 2011 and leaked by Edward Snowden, the former US National
Security Agency contractor.
The
Guardian reported that British and US intelligence agencies had a list
of surveillance targets including Mr Almunia, German government
buildings in Berlin and overseas, and charities working Africa.
An
EU summit in October was overshadowed by a diplomatic storm over US
eavesdropping on Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor. After the meeting,
Mr Cameron hit back at “la-di-da, airy fairy” critics of Britain’s
“brave” spies. He declined to answer whether Britain helped collect or
received information gleaned from taps on Ms Merkel’s phone.
A
British official declined to comment on intelligence issues or Mr
Almunia’s comments. Last month President Barack Obama acknowledged that
the US “would have to provide more confidence to the international
community” about its spying.
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