Now EU wants its own SECRET AGENTS – amid claims Germany spied on officials
THE EU is considering launching its own spy agency amid bombshell allegations that Germany passed intelligence about top officials to the US.
EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker revealed the spy agency plans
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker wants his own secret service to counter spies, according to reports.
He revealed that the high-level EU executive committee had discussed the radical move after shock claims emerged about Germany's Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) spy agency.
It is alleged that German chancellor Angela Merkel ignored "abuse" of the country's wiretapping post to spy on "European partners" in return for top secret information from the US.
Juncker said: "At a college meeting, I said that the European Commission should have a secret service, because the agents are here."
It is alleged that German chancellor Angela Merkel turned a blind eye to spying
According to The Times, he added: "I do not know if German agents are active here. This will have to be sorted out by the Germans, including parliamentary authorities, and we will see."
In 2013 it emerged that the US National Security Agency had monitored their telephone conversations after obtaining their numbers from an official in another government department.
The revelation led to widespread condemnation, with the French and German governments demanding talks with the United States to resolve the dispute.
Britain and the US - along with Canada, Australia and New Zealand - are members of the so-called "Five Eyes" group, who share signals intelligence and are supposed not to spy on each other.