US will get surveillance right: Kerry

Published November 5, 2013
US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) shakes hands as he meets with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw, November 5, 2013 — Photo Reuters
US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) shakes hands as he meets with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw, November 5, 2013 — Photo Reuters

WARSAW: US Secretary of State John Kerry is vowing that a review into NSA surveillance activities will ultimately result in the ''right'' balance between security and privacy and says outrage over alleged espionage and eavesdropping should not disrupt key trade talks between Europe and the United States.

Speaking in Warsaw after talks with Poland's foreign minister, Kerry said Tuesday that Europeans and others have ''legitimate'' questions about the surveillance and that those would be answered in private diplomatic discussions.

''We need to understand that we are all in this together,'' Kerry said. ''We are all in the effort to be able to provide protection to our citizens. And we have to strike the right balance between protecting our citizens and obviously the privacy of all our citizens. That is a balance that we do try to strike.''

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he had spoken with Kerry and ''we have agreed on closer cooperation between our services on combatting common threats.''

Sikorski also said that trade issues should be separate from surveillance questions.

''These are two separate things, two separate orders. One belongs to Eurpoe itself, to the community,'' he said. ''The second one is rather national in character, it depends on individual states vis-a-vis the U.S.''

Kerry said President Barack Obama had ordered a complete review of NSA's activities. But Kerry said it was important that concerns over NSA and other activities did not affect discussions about the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Some European officials have said the surveillance issue may have a negative impact on the negotiations. The European Commission, the 28-nation bloc's executive arm, said Monday that the talks will go ahead and that next week's round in Brussels is set to focus on services, investment, energy and regulatory issues.

A broad EU-US trade deal could provide a boost to growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic by eliminating tariffs and regulatory barriers that are hampering business. The trade volume in goods and services between the two economies -- representing almost half of global output -- totaled 800 billion euros ($1.08 trillion) last year.

But trade discussions are taking place under a cloud following revelations over the NSA's alleged spying activities including eavesdropping on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone. Some top European lawmakers have called for the talks to be suspended.

Kerry said it was important to keep the trade talks separate from ''legitimate questions'' about NSA and other activities. ''This is about jobs, it's about the economy, it is about economic competition in a global community that competes, sometimes by rules that are very questionable and shaky,'' Kerry said. Kerry, the most senior Obama administration official to visit Europe since revelations of NSA spying sparked major outrage across the continent, emphasized that the U.S. understood its allies' concerns.

''We want to hear from our allies, we want to have this conversation,'' Kerry said. ''President Obama welcomes this opportunity to work with our allies. And, ultimately, if we get it right, which we will, we will not only alleviate the concerns but we can actually strengthen our intelligence relationships going forward.''

Opinion

Editorial

PTI in disarray
Updated 30 Nov, 2024

PTI in disarray

PTI’s protest plans came abruptly undone because key decisions were swayed by personal ambitions rather than political wisdom and restraint.
Tired tactics
30 Nov, 2024

Tired tactics

Matiullah's arrest appears to be a case of the state’s overzealous and misplaced application of the law.
Smog struggle
30 Nov, 2024

Smog struggle

AS smog continues to shroud parts of Pakistan, an Ipsos survey highlights the scope of this environmental hazard....
Solidarity with Palestine
Updated 29 Nov, 2024

Solidarity with Palestine

The wretched of the earth see in the Palestinian struggle against Israel a mirror of themselves.
Little relief for public
29 Nov, 2024

Little relief for public

INFLATION, the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services over a given period of time, has receded...
Right to education
29 Nov, 2024

Right to education

IT is troubling to learn that over 16,500 students of the University of Karachi (KU) have defaulted on fee payments...