EU leaders support Angela Merkel over NSA spying

Twenty-eight European Union (EU) leaders made a joint statement at a two-day EU summit noting the intentions of France and Germany in seeking bilateral talks with the United States (US).  The EU leaders announced that other EU countries were welcome to join the initiative which underlined close relations between Europe and the US and the value of that partnership. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the summit aimed to arrive at a common understanding of the services between the United States, Germany and France for the establishment of a framework for cooperation. Regarding the recent scandal over reports claiming the US National Security Agency (NSA) tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, French President Francois Hollande said, "A special European cell is already set up to deal with the wave of snooping disclosures." A recent examination by the German secret service BND and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) following Spiegel magazine's report on files revealed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has supported suspicions that secret surveillance targeted Merkel’s private mobile phone. According to press reports, German authorities believe the possible surveillance operation had been controlled by a team at the US embassy in Berlin. Stressing that experts must accelerate efforts on the matter with their US allies, Hollande added, "This issue is not going away and there will be more revelations in the future." Call for talks come "with the aim of finding, before the end of the year, an understanding on mutual relations in that field," EU President Herman Van Rompuy said.  "Any new understanding applies to relations between European countries, as well as to relations with the US,” emphasized Van Rompuy.