Merkel, Hollande want to forge new rules for sharing intelligence data with U.S.

Source: Washington Post

BERLIN — The leaders of Germany and France on Friday proposed creating a new agreement on cooperation among their intelligence services and those of the United States, in the wake of a report alleging that the National Security Agency had monitored the phone conversations of more than 30 world leaders.

Saying that trust in the United States had been damaged, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged Friday that she and French President Francois Hollande would quickly forge a new pact to ensure more transparency for U.S. intelligence operations on European soil.

The proposal was a response to European fury over reports that U.S. intelligence agencies Merkel’s cellphone conversations and those of other senior officials around the world.

Outraged officials on Thursday threatened to delay trade negotiations with the United States. German prosecutors, meanwhile, launched a legal investigation, and officials here said the scandal could disrupt counterterrorism collaboration between the United States and the European Union.

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