Earlier this week, reports emerged that the BND assisted the US National Security Agency (NSA) in spying on high-ranking Austrian and French authorities, members of the European Commission and Airbus. The revelations are based on a leaked internal BND email dating from August 2013.
Any doubts as to who is running Europe. The US has Germany in its pocket! https://t.co/mOkc2HG1VQ
— Clive Dunn (@cliveldunn) 2 мая 2015
According to Bild, the BND carried out surveillance on European corporations, agencies and ministries. It filtered out information on German nationals. Then the agency analyzed the data and used it in internal reports.
The BND did not stop at collecting phone call metadata. The agency made full transcripts of phone calls, letters and audio files, the newspaper said. The BND monitored calls on conflict zones, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. The agency also wiretapped the phones of European missions and companies in the Middle East.
What do our European partners say about the fact that Merkel helped the NSA to spy on their economy? #BND
— Sven Krohlas (@krohlas) 28 апреля 2015
Bild claimed that the BND carried out surveillance and online spying on the EU governments with the knowledge of or at least without any opposition from the office of the German chancellor prior to 2013, when Edward Snowden, a former NSA employee, broke the news of US mass surveillance.
Among other things, Snowden accused US intelligence of spying on Europeans, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, in power since 2005. The revelations caused outrage in Germany.
BND lies. NSA breaches contracts & Laws, feeds Industry, EU politicians selectors in BND database.#Snowden was right https://t.co/hh55eglw3l
— Diani Barreto (@deCespedes) 23 апреля 2015
The extent to which German intelligence used this information in its own work remains unclear, a source in the German Parliamentary Committee investigating the NSA spying scandal told the publication. The committee was established in March 2014 as Germany boiled over US surveillance on Europeans. So far, the German government has failed to address the critical issue, despite repeated promises to respond.
"Spying on friends is a no-go" said #Merkel to the #NSA. My answer to her regarding the allegations on #BND spying: https://t.co/YbBshRdPrR
— Jan Philipp Albrecht (@JanAlbrecht) 28 апреля 2015
Meanwhile, following the latest revelations, Berlin has found itself under mounting pressure to disclose what it knew regarding Germany's cooperation with the US intelligence agency.
Spying scandal is starting to hit the chancellor: "Merkel cabinet pressed on NSA/BND spying" http://t.co/jOsWK3jcZK
— Anne Roth (@Anne_Roth) 29 апреля 2015
