President Barack Obama responded to outrage by European leaders over revelations of alleged U.S. spying on them by saying Monday that all nations, including those expressing the strongest protests, collect intelligence on each other. The German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday that classified leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden detailed NSA bugging of European Union offices in Washington and New York, as well as an "electronic eavesdropping operation" that tapped into an EU building in Brussels. Mounting anger throughout Europe on Monday included a threat by French President Francois Hollande to halt talks with the United States on trade and other issues unless the bugging stopped.
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The U.S. State Department says any talks with Europe on spying will be private
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President Obama says all nations, including European allies, spy on each other
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EU to sweep for bugs after news outlets report on alleged U.S. surveillance
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Der Spiegel reports that the U.S. bugged EU offices and infiltrated a computer network
Francois Hollande
@placeholder, however, said bugging of EU offices went beyond the anti-terrorism programs previously revealed and must stop immediately before negotiations can go forward.
European Union
EU
EU
EU
"If it is, though, confirmed that diplomatic representations of the @placeholder and some European countries were spied upon, we have to say clearly: The bugging of friends is unacceptable," Seibert said.
German
The @placeholder and French foreign ministries planned to meet with the U.S. ambassadors to those countries to talk about the allegations.
French
The German and @placeholder foreign ministries planned to meet with the U.S. ambassadors to those countries to talk about the allegations.
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
The U.S. Director of National Intelligence's office declined to comment Sunday on specific allegations published in @placeholder.
U.S.
United States
U.S.
U.S.
"The United States government will respond appropriately to the European Union through our diplomatic channels, and through the EU/@placeholder
National Security Agency
NSA
Snowden has revealed himself as the source of documents outlining a massive effort by the @placeholder to track cell phone calls and monitor the e-mail and Internet traffic of virtually all Americans.