"Today’s publication further demonstrates that the United States’ economic espionage campaign extends to Germany and to key European institutions and issues such as the EU Central Bank and the crisis in Greece," reads a statement from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 1, 2015
The new documents highlight dozens of German officials who the National Security Agency considered "high priority targets." Listing the officials by target identifiers associated with phone numbers, the individuals are categorized as being involved in either "political affairs" or "international finance developments."
The documents also reveal the extent of the NSA and GCHQ’s cooperation in spying on other ally nations.
"Our publication today also shows how the UK is assisting the US to spy on issues central to Europe," Assange’s statement reads. "Would France and Germany have proceeded with the BRICS bailout plan for Greece if this intelligence was not collected and passed to the United States – who must have been horrified at the geopolitical implications?"
Among the leaks are intercepted communications between Chancellor Merkel and her personal assistant, which reveal the German leader’s conflicting deliberations on how to confront the Greek crisis.
"…German Chancellor Angela Merkel professed to be at a loss as to which option – another haircut or a transfer union – would be best for addressing the situation," one document reads. "Haircut" refers to losses which would be absorbed by private investors.
“Merkel’s fear was that Athens would be unable to overcome its problems even with an additional haircut, since it would not be able to handle the remaining debt,” the cable continues.
"Furthermore, she doubted that sending financial experts to Greece would be of much help in bringing the financial system there under control."
Ultimately, Merkel’s preferred solution was "to enact a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT)," hopefully as soon as next year.
Another document indicates Germany’s support for IMF bailout plan funded by the BRICS nations.
"First, the German government wanted solutions that work within the context of current European legislation," it reads. "On the other hands, the Germans would support a special IMF fund into which the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) nations would pool funds for the purpose of bolstering Eurozone bailout activities."
On Monday, WikiLeaks released documents that proved US spying against France went even deeper than was previously believed, eavesdropping on a number of government officials, as well as very major French company.
"The United States has been conducting economic espionage against France for more than a decade," Assange said in a statement. "Not only has it spied on the French Finance Minister, it has ordered the interception of every French company contract or negotiation valued at more than $200 million."
