Merkel calls for an EU-only communications network

Merkel calls for an EU-only communications network

German chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a Europe-only communications network in a bid to improve data protection.

In her weekly podcast, the chancellor said that the proposed network would offer protection from NSA surveillance by avoiding emails and other data being automatically passed through US-based servers.

Merkel said she planned to discuss the project with French president François Hollande in a meeting on Wednesday.

The announcement is part of a response to reports implicating that the US National Security Agency (NSA) is spying directly on the German chancellor, and to revelations of mass surveillance in Europe.

In December last year, a local German newspaper reported that the NSA had tapped into the SEA-ME-WE-4 cable, which connects Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.


Gift this article