DEMOCRACY LIVE
MEPs urge Obama to appear before European Parliament
US President Barack Obama has been urged to appear in front of the European Parliament to explain the allegations that US authorities spied on EU embassies.
In a heated debate on 3 July 2013, days after new allegations of the Prism scheme surfaced, Dutch liberal MEP Sophie In 't Veld said the EU needed to secure its "moral authority".
"We can no longer tolerate US laws being applied directly on EU territories - I don't want to hear the arguments of national security any more," she stated.
Former CIA employee Edward Snowden leaked reports that claimed that US agencies were gathering millions of phone records and monitoring internet data, using a programme known as Prism.
US director of national security, James Clapper's office said information gathered under Prism was obtained under the auspices of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa).
The European United Left group has tabled a motion saying that Mr Snowden should be given asylum in the EU, with the Green group suggesting he should be given the parliament's Sakharov Prize for "freedom of thought".
But British Conservative MEP Timothy Kirkhope accused the European Parliament of acting as "judge, jury and executioner, conducting a witch-hunt aimed at securing headlines rather than finding the facts".
He also condemned as "shameful" calls by socialist MEPs to halt talks on developing a free trade agreement in retaliation for the spying claims.
The Greek socialist MEP Dimitrios Droutsas defended demands to block the trade deal, arguing "we cannot sacrifice our principles on the altar of economics".
Speaking on behalf of the European Commission, Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said that privacy was a "non-negotiable fundamental right".
She said the recent allegations highlighted the need for parliament and national governments to conclude ongoing talks on creating an EU-wide data protection law as soon as possible.
Useful links:
The European Parliament's disclaimer on the use of simultaneous interpretations can be found here.
Read Democracy Live's guide to how the plenary sessions work here.
A full speaker's list can be found here. BBC
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