Furious European Parliament Members Warn US Spying could Derail Free Trade Agreement

Juan Cole 07/01/2013

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European Union officials are furious about revelations that the US is spying on them and on Continental Europeans as vigorously as it spies on China. Their anger derives in part from their negotiations over a free trade agreement with the US, given that they now believe their negotiating positions may have been penetrated by US surveillance. The speaker of the European Parliament suggests that the scandal could derail the agreement.

The story broke this weekend in Der Spiegel, based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

ITN Reports

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page