Europe mulls sanctions
The United States could lose access to an important law enforcement tool used to track terrorist money flows, German officials said on Monday, as Europe weighed a response to allegations that the US spied on its closest European allies.
Spain became the latest ally to demand answers after a Spanish newspaper reported that the National Security Agency monitored more than 60 million phone calls in that country during one month alone.
The report on Monday in the El Mundo daily follows allegations of widespread NSA spying in France and Germany.
With European leaders dissatisfied with the US response so far, officials have been looking for a way to put pressure on Washington to provide details of past surveillance and assurances that the practice will be curbed.
The challenge is to send a strong message to the US against wholesale spying on European people and institutions without further damage to the overall transatlantic relationship.
AP
(China Daily 10/30/2013 page11)
