Explosive revelation about the NSA affair: EU partner Denmark probably helped the USA to spy on Merkel

New revelations apparently show: Denmark's secret service helped the NSA to spy on politicians in Germany.

Peer Steinbrück was also affected.

Berlin - In 2013, Edward Snowden revealed an explosive action by the US secret service NSA.

It became known that politicians such as Chancellor Angela Merkel * and Frank-Walter Steinmeier had been wiretapped.

But now new details are emerging.

NSA affair: In addition to Merkel, Steinbrück was also spied on - supported by Denmark

Peer Steinbrück is said to have been one of the target persons in the wiretapping affair.

In 2013 he was the SPD's candidate for chancellor.

Even more: Germany's neighboring country and close partner Denmark is said to have helped the NSA to spy on politicians.

A team from the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) learned this from intelligence sources.

The broadcaster researched the matter together with European media, including NDR, WDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung, as the Norddeutsche Rundfunk announced on Sunday.

NSA affair: Danish secret service provided hub

The Danish foreign and military intelligence service "Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste" (FE) is said to have made its listening station "Sandagergardan" near Copenhagen available to the NSA.

Here is an important Internet hub for various submarine cables that the intelligence services have been tapping into, according to the report.

The Danish government allegedly learned of this fact - and also of the spying on other politicians in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, France and Germany - in 2015 at the latest, the year in which the so-called “Dunhammer Report” was written.

After the Snowden revelations, it summarized the extent to which the Danish intelligence service cooperated with the NSA.

Allegedly, targets in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Finance and in a Danish arms company are also said to have been spied on.

In this way, the Danish foreign intelligence service helped the US to monitor its own country.

Since this is forbidden under Danish law, the entire management of the FE had to resign in the past.

NSA affair: politicians: inside apparently knew nothing about spying

Peer Steinbrück explained to NDR, WDR and Süddeutscher Zeitung: "Politically, I consider this a scandal." Although he does believe that Western countries also need functional and efficient intelligence services.

But this type of wiretapping between partners shows "that they have quite a life of their own."

Explosive: the then candidate for chancellor met the then US President Barack Obama at the time of the revelations - and spoke to him about the NSA affair without getting any concrete answers.

Neither Peer Steinbrück, Angela Merkel, nor Federal President Steinmeier reported that they were aware of possible surveillance by the Danish secret service.

The former chairman of the NSA committee of inquiry in the Bundestag, Patrick Sensburg (CDU), was not very surprised.

You have to understand the system of intelligence services, says Sensburg.

“This is not about friendships.

This is not about moral or ethical claims.

It's about asserting interests. "

NSA affair: No response from Denmark

According to the report, NSA, the Danish secret service FE and the Danish Ministry of Defense did not want to comment on the research when asked. The Danish Defense Minister is said to have only generally stated: "Systematic wiretapping of close allies is unacceptable."

(Dpa / jh) * merkur.de is part of IPPEN.Media