German Chancellor Angela Merkel is indignant over having her phone monitored . She would n't endanger the Swift data exchange agreement and negotiations on a free trade zone between the European Union and the United States , just to demonstrate that she is a strong leader or to strengthen her position at home , which is stable regardless at the moment . Merkel grew up in East Germany where domestic spying was rampant . She has been a staunch critic of the NSA since it began collecting data on Germans and other Europeans under President George W. Bush, but she says that now's not an issue because they're only doing what Trust is now broken and the U.S. needs to show security does not trump liberty .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is indignant over having her phone monitored . Merkel grew up in East Germany where domestic spying was rampant . She has been a staunch critic of the NSA since it began collecting data on Germans and other Europeans under President George W. Bush, but she says that now's not an issue because they're only doing what Trust is now broken and the U.S. needs to show security does not trump liberty .