Deutsche Welle, 3 July 2013
The NSA espionage scandal has unsettled German companies. They are concerned that industrial secrets may have been stolen by US intelligence agencies.
The NSA espionage scandal has unsettled German companies. They are concerned that industrial secrets may have been stolen by US intelligence agencies.
Trust
between Washington and Berlin has been shaken by the scandal over the alleged
bugging of German government and EU buildings by US intelligence agencies.
Reacting angrily to the apparent widespread surveillance of telephone and email
communications, German politicians have demanded a speedy explanation from
Washington. The EU and Germany do, after all, see themselves as partners of the
US.
While the
outrage may be exaggerated, there are legitimate, unanswered questions. For
example: Why is the National Security Agency (NSA) collecting such large
amounts of data, and for what end is that data being used?
The Trojan
horse
The
chairman of the conservative Christian Social Union's small business group,
Hans Michelbach, sees the surveillance of EU institutions by US intelligence
agencies as a cause for alarm.
"The
EU is not a supporter of terrorism, but is indeed a strong competitor in the
global economy," Michelbach said. He fears that not only European
institutions, but also European and German firms may have been spied on, giving
the US "dishonest advantages."
Germany's
consumer protection minister, Ilse Aigner, warns that the joint fight against
terrorism could be turned into a "Trojan horse" that "covers up
espionage against governments and companies."
Meanwhile,
German companies have expressed both concern and astonishment at the extent of
the spying.
"There
was speculation in the past that conversations and Internet activity were being
recorded by foreign intelligence agencies," Volker Wagner, chairman of the
Working Group for Economic Security, told DW. "But if the media reports
are true, then the dimensions are alarming."
Opportunity
makes a thief
Other
economic and industrial groups have reacted in a similar fashion. They want to
know what kind of data was recorded and how it was used. At the moment, the
European business community only has suspicions that industrial secrets were
stolen by US intelligence agencies. Typically, stolen technologies and products
show up in the hands of competitors or foreign countries years after they were
originally taken.
But
according to Wagner, the amount of data collected creates an incentive for
abuse.
"One
has to consider that American security services employ many freelancers,
contractors and consultants," Wagner said. "It's estimated that in
Washington alone, up to 1.5 million contractors work for the security services."
 |
| Rösler said US espionage hurts prospects for a trade agreement |
"In
addition, we have to school the employees in the sales department and the
service technicians on how to protect corporate information," Glatz told
DW.
EU-US trade
agreement jeopardized
Germany's
IT small business association is pursuing a different approach. The group has
suggested the creation of Europe-wide corporate consortiums as a counterbalance
to the economic power of the US.
But the
American and European economies are supposed to become even more integrated in
the future. The EU and US hope to implement a free trade agreement. German
Economy Minister Philipp Rösler has said that while Berlin still has an
interest in such a partnership with the US, the espionage scandal has
negatively impacted the project.
"The
US now has to quickly clarify the allegations and provide transparency,"
Rösler said.
Industrial
espionage causes billions of euros in economic damage in Germany. The security
consultancy Corporate Trust estimates that it cost 4.2 billion euros ($5.4
billion) in 2012.
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