How should European countries react on the NSA activities?

[Husar]

7) Invite Russia to advance our relations and become better friends.

8) start a health offensive and throw out cheap american food producers.

9) vote a minority party into office, even if it's the communists I don't really care at this point since the big ones are obviously just about hot air.

[Fragony]

The Dutch government is so intrusive that I don't even care what the NSA does. I hope that it at least serves a purpose instead of our government's obsession with databases on just about everything. Nowhere are you as much spiead upon as here, and oddly enough nowhere are you more likely to get away with crime despite all these eyes everywhere

[Fisherking]

Germany is the most spied on country in Europe, by the US.

Outrage is good. Government outrage would be better.

You have more leverage than any other EU country also. Their most strategic bases are here. Forbidding access to German air space until they stop would get their attention real quick.

It is not over politically but I doubt the German Government will get tough with them.

[Fragony]

Your government cooperated

[Ronin]

things to do - for European government officials:

A) Stop pretending you are surprised and outraged - everyone spies on everyone else, that's the game, yes even allies, I understand a certain level of public outrage soap-opera will be produced but it's annoying to sit through 2-3 weeks of news reports of people acting like offended virgins.
B) what you should be pissed about is that they succeeded and that it took an internal mole for you to find out
C) Talk to your people responsible for preventing this /slash doing the same thing back, fire some incompetents, beef up efforts and get back in the game.

[Fisherking]

Governments spying on other governments is typical and normal.

Governments spying on businesses and stealing technologies are normal for defense but not normal when not defense related. Windmills have no defensive applications that I am aware of and passing stolen technologies to corporations to profit from is more outrageous.

Governments monitoring all of the telephone calls of an entire nation is not normal spying. Be it their own nation or another.

[Ronin]

Governments spying on other governments is typical and normal.

Governments spying on businesses and stealing technologies are normal for defense but not normal when not defense related. Windmills have no defensive applications that I am aware of and passing stolen technologies to corporations to profit from is more outrageous.

Governments monitoring all of the telephone calls of an entire nation is not normal spying. Be it their own nation or another.

what defines "normal" spying is:

the Advantage you can gain from doing it
divided by:
The effort/resources you have to invest into doing it.

and my friend, the introduction and massification of digital communication has dropped the value of the divisor in that calculation to near zero.
It can easily be done.....so it will be done.

[Furunculus]

Governments spying on other governments is typical and normal.

Governments spying on businesses and stealing technologies are normal for defense but not normal when not defense related. Windmills have no defensive applications that I am aware of and passing stolen technologies to corporations to profit from is more outrageous.

Governments monitoring all of the telephone calls of an entire nation is not normal spying. Be it their own nation or another.

welcome to the DGSE, mon amis.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I agree with Ronin, the Germans spy on the US - they just haven't been caught yet. As far as backing Russia against the US - bad idea. Putin is a Tyrant, he does everything the US government does and more.

Even suggesting we should favour Russia over the US makes you sound like a child having a tantrum - the idea has no logical argument for it.

[Fisherking]

I agree with Ronin, the Germans spy on the US - they just haven't been caught yet. As far as backing Russia against the US - bad idea. Putin is a Tyrant, he does everything the US government does and more.

Even suggesting we should favour Russia over the US makes you sound like a child having a tantrum - the idea has no logical argument for it.

Nope! Germany has no history of spying on the US. In fact Germany has alerted the US of others trying to spy on them.

Allies I can say that spied on the US or attempted to were fairly quickly found out. Israel and France are two examples.

The actions taken by the US Government at the time was to deny entry of sensitive areas to those nationals, employees of companies based in those countries or their subsidiaries. That gets enforced. If it is a highly sensitive area only US nationals are permitted there. Even naturalized citizens are at times excluded.

The Germans may conduct electronic surveillance with US knowledge on the US, but that is just like the UK. It is not technically spying.

And just because it is easy is no excuse for doing it and now is an opportunity to stop it.

[Franconicus]

7) Invite Russia to advance our relations and become better friends.

8) start a health offensive and throw out cheap american food producers.

9) vote a minority party into office, even if it's the communists I don't really care at this point since the big ones are obviously just about hot air.

7) I thought about Russia or China, but what would that be good for? None of these shares our values of democracy and freedom. I think Russia and China are closer to Washington from the idiologicaly point of view.
Of course we can go on trading, like we used to do.