German Courts Unlikely to Rule Against Gov’t in NSA Scandal

Plans by a Bundestag Commission to sue the German government over a recent spy scandal involving the US National Security Agency (NSA) will yield no results, a member of the German Bundestag from Die Linke party told Sputnik Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova – Dr Alexander Neu explained that German courts are unlikely to hear charges against the Berlin administration out of fear of damaging the country's relations with Washington.

On Tuesday, local media reported that the G10 Commission of the Bundestag, tasked with overseeing German intelligence service practices, revealed its intention to file a lawsuit against the country's government after it refused to make available for review the list of search criteria used by the German Intelligence Service (BND) to conduct surveillance on corporations and ministries across Europe for NSA.

The list includes phone numbers, email domains and social network accounts.

“I am sure there will be no legal consequences for the German government as no court in Germany is willing to act against the government considering its relationship with the United States,” Dr. Alexander Neu said.

“The German government is not willing to risk its relations with the United States due to fact that the German political elite is transatlantic-oriented, even when it harms the country’s national interests,” Neu continued.

According to the lawmaker, the German government believes that its own Intelligence capacities are insufficient; therefore, it cooperates with the United States to protect its own interests.

In April, an espionage scandal erupted in Germany when local media revealed that the country's intelligence agency, BND, had provided technical assistance to the NSA in spying on targets inside the country and throughout the European Union, including on top political figures and corporations.