Stoltenberg calls for transparency in NSA surveillance

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has called for an investigation on the spying scandal against allied leaders by the US NSA in collaboration with the FE, the Danish military intelligence service.

“The countries involved in this case are NATO allies,” he said. “We have to put all the facts on the table. There is a need to ‘find out what really happened,'” Stoltenberg told Danish public television. DR, who revealed the case after many months of research in collaboration with several other European media.

The Norwegian estimated that This story has put Denmark in a very unpleasant light, but it has ruled that trust in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization remains intact.

Danish public television revealed on Sunday that the National Security Agency was monitoring the telephony and internet use made by top European leaders using Denmark’s telecommunications network and software made by FE.

DR broadcast a detailed report on the case following an investigation by its journalists in collaboration with the Swedish public television SVT, the Norwegian public television NRK, the German television networks NDR and WDR, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Le Monde newspaper.

The information gathered was confirmed by nine sources informed about the case, while he was also able to access secret FE documents. The figures were confirmed independently by several other sources.

French President Emanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded an explanation from the Copenhagen government over the case.

Danish Prime Minister Mett Frederiksen assured yesterday that there was no systematic monitoring of allies and ruled that her country’s relations, primarily with France and Germany, have not suffered and will not suffer.

The US government also spoke in a conciliatory tone. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said yesterday that much has been done to address the issue since the 2014 incident.

“We have undergone a complete review of our approach to espionage abroad; (then) President (Barack) Obama had issued a presidential directive that changed our approach in significant ways,” said Ms. Psaki.

“We will continue to work with our European allies and partners to answer any questions they may have through the relevant national security channels,” she added.

In 2014, an internal investigation was launched into the Danish military intelligence service following the revelations of Edward Snowden about the way the NSA operates, according to Danish public television. In August 2020, the head of the Danish military intelligence service and three other senior officials were relieved of their duties. The Danish government announced last year that it was continuing to conduct an investigation, which was expected to be completed in 2021.

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