The European Parliament Wants To Hear from Snowden

The European Parliament has approved inviting the ex-analyst to present himself in person by a wide margin. The infiltrator prefers to record his answers so he can’t be located.

Edward Snowden, the man who has put the United States in a tight spot by uncovering its extensive espionage network, will soon have the opportunity to explain himself in front of the whole world. The European Parliament has offered the ex-analyst his first invitation by a public institution to explain his motives, as well as details about the massive surveillance programs of the National Security Agency (NSA), for which he used to work. It’s likely that Snowden will accept the invitation, although the format remains to be decided, say parliamentary sources.

On Thursday, the European deputies approved inviting Snowden to make an appearance before the European Parliament by an overwhelming majority in the Civil Liberties Committee. But one of the reasons for this support is the type of appearance the committee hopes to host. The European People’s Party, initially reticent to offer Snowden an opportunity to speak, consented to give him the spotlight by means of an “interactive videoconference.” The idea is that if the ex-analyst appears live before the parliament, they will have the opportunity to ask him additional questions.

But the situation is difficult. Snowden’s lawyers had already signaled that their client was willing to accept questions from the European Parliament, but not live. The ex-analyst, who has been in hiding somewhere in Russia ever since the country granted him temporary asylum following his flight from the United States, fears being located if he connects live through videoconferencing and prefers not to take the risk.

If the infiltrator of the United States’ grand espionage network rejects this format, the appearance could lose support from the European People’s Party and in the end be rejected in the final vote of the general assembly of the European Parliament (the initiative was approved this past Thursday in the Civil Liberties Committee, with 36 votes in favor, two against and one abstention). With the exception of a few euro-skeptic members of Parliament, all other groups support it, making it very probable that Snowden’s accounts and details, although recorded, will appear before the European Union.

The European deputies are aware of the irritation this decision could provoke in the United States and the damage it could do to bilateral relations. At the end of December, when the request for an appearance was not yet supported by votes, a member of the United States House of Representatives visiting Brussels warned emphatically against it. “I personally do not believe it rises to the dignity of this body to invite someone wanted in the United States for a crime. He has put the lives of U.S. soldiers and other citizens in danger,”* exclaimed congressman Mike Rogers to his European colleagues in a public appearance. Parliamentary sources assure that the European deputies and People’s Party have assessed these risks and developed the conditions for the appearance around them.

Nevertheless, a large portion of the European Parliament is sympathetic toward Snowden and his efforts to uncover practices that have made many Europeans indignant (although the British have participated in many of them). “We should recognize that Snowden has revealed these grave infractions to the European legislature. He should be able to live safely somewhere in Europe,” pleaded Jan Philipp Albrecht, European representative from the Alliance ‘90/The Greens in Germany, in the debate about what the European Union should do following the espionage scandal.

Right after the vote about Snowden, the Civil Liberties Committee made a statement about how Europe should react to a surveillance operation that has affected thousands of citizens and businesses. Several very important leaders were also involved (Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice President of the European Commission Joaquin Almunia among them). “I’m proud to be a member of the European Parliament, the only institution that seems to be doing its job on this subject,” stressed Sophia in’t Veld, a liberal European representative from Holland.

The initiative debated this past Thursday, which should be voted on in March, calls for more drastic measures than those the member states have already adopted. Among them are: rejecting the huge commercial agreement that Brussels and Washington are negotiating if it requires including personal information as a tradable good and suspension of the agreement on trading information concerning anti-terrorism. Teresa Jimenez-Becerril, a European representative from the People’s Party, warned about these measures, “Espionage is intolerable, but that’s not a reason for the immediate cancellation of programs fighting against terrorism.” Claude Moraes, the author of the initiative, says his recommendations will permit Europe to decide “the future it wants in terms of privacy.”*

*Editor’s note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.