German top intelligent chiefs and the European Parliament delegation, will meet with White House officials next week to discuss allegations that U.S. security officials tapped the mobile phone of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Reuters reported.
The U.S. National Security Agency allegedly accessed tens of thousands French phone records and monitored Merkel's private phone line as well, according to Reuters. Merkel has demanded action from President Barack Obama.
German government deputy spokesman Georg Streiter said in a news conference they're speaking with the U.S. to clear things up as soon as possible and that "a high level delegation will travel for talks with the White House and National Security Agency to push forward the investigation into the recent allegations."
Merkel spoke to a European summit on Thursday and said the alleged bugging "has shattered trust with the United States," and demanded Washington agree to a "no spying" deal with Berlin, who will also dispatch heads of its foreign intelligence agency to Washington, by the end of the year, Reuters reported.
Members of the European Parliament's civil liberties committee have also said they will fly to Washington on Monday to discuss remedies for their citizens, according to Reuters. The White House denied accusations that they're currently bugging Merkel, but would not comment whether they had done so in the past.
In early July, Merkel sent Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich to Washington to demand answers about spying accusations. Now, Merkel faces criticism because of the need for a second trip to Washington only three months later, Reuters reported.
"In the summer, we received explanations and assurances," Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Thursday during a news conference, Reuters reported. "Whether we can trust these explanations and assurances that must be examined again."
Merkel stated U.S. spying of its two allies needs to stop after the NSA collected tens of thousands of French phone records between December 2012 and January this year, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, the European Parliament voted last week to amend a package of laws so the data protection rules last edited in 1995 could be strengthened. The updated law would change how European data is collected and shared, as well as fines of 100 million euros for rule breakers.
