By Jaime Ortega.
The German government negotiated an agreement with the U.S. secret services that ensures a country will not engage in spying on the other, according to the Foreign Minister, Ronald Pofalla, after appearing before the supervisory committee of the federal parliament (Bundestag).
For Pofalla, the first contacts leading to a positive direction have already taken place at the level of experts, including the German Intelligence Service BND-or foreign espionage, and the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States.
The Foreign Minister, responsible for the coordination of the German secret services and their cooperation with their foreign counterparts, said there is not the slightest indication that there have been “massive spying actions” by the NSA in Germany .
He also said that by the United States and the United Kingdom have given assurances “in writing” to Germany’s espionage operations in both countries have adhered at all times “to German law.”
Pofalla appeared before the parliamentary oversight committee, whose meetings are always closed and under confidentiality agreement, and amid opposition allegations to collusion between the BND and the NSA agencies.
The Foreign Ministry insisted in this regard, that the current memorandum of cooperation between the two countries’ espionage services was signed under the Social Democrat-Green government of Gerhard Schröder.
“Please understand: I myself had signed the memorandum, correct from all points of view and practices appropriate to the secret services between allied countries,” said Pofalla, in relation to the agreement, in 2002, by the then head of the Chancellery , Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The session of the commission, the third Pofalla attended since the scandal broke of alleged massive U.S. intelligence, took place at the behest of the opposition Social Democrats, Green and Left.
The chair of the parliamentary estate is Social Thomas Oppermann, for whom there is founded suspicion that the U.S. takes massive spying activities in Germany.
Oppermann has repeatedly urged Pofalla to clarify the extent to which it wascollected data of German citizens and if there has been mass transfer, and if so to what extent, including mobile phone numbers between the intelligence services of both countries.
