Poland's Defense Minister Predicts Eavesdropping Spread After Bugs Scandal

Audio surveillance may become a widespread trend, Poland's Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said Friday, a few days after eavesdropping devices were found in the restaurant where Siemoniak was to negotiate with his Dutch counterpart.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, Poland's military intelligence found wiretapping devices in a Warsaw restaurant prepared for the meeting of the Polish and Dutch defense ministers. Spy bugs were detected and removed before the meeting took place, and the privacy of the conversation was not compromised, Polish media reported.

"I think that easy access to such devices makes a certain kind of fashion that may spread," the minister was quoted as saying by Tvn24. He added that it "made no surprise" that someone would like to eavesdrop on policymakers.

Commenting on the situation, the defense minister expressed satisfaction that the special services were well prepared and managed to find the bugs.

The ministers did not discuss "serious" and confidential matters, he added, saying that even if the would-be-eavesdropper heard the ministers' conversation, they would not have obtained information harmful to neither Poland's reputation nor to the public's interests.

An investigation has been launched into the incident.

In June, 2014, an eavesdropping scandal rocked Poland as Wprost news magazine released the tape recordings of private conversations between Radoslaw Sikorski, former Foreign Minister, and other senior Polish officials. The politicians expressed themselves radically on different issues, including the policy of Donald Tusk's cabinet and Poland's relations with some foreign countries.