2013-07-06 Swedish media hid news of US spy probe veto

Sweden used a veto to stop the EU from asking critical questions of the US about the superpower's extensive espionage programme, a matter the Swedish media chose to not report to their readers.

Of the 28 EU member states, Sweden was supported only by Britain in their opposition to the critical Friday proposition. The two groups that had already been commissioned to investigate US espionage will now be disbanded.

When Swedish DN.se reported on the vote early Saturday morning, reporter Henrik Brors chose not to mention that Sweden used their veto to kill investigations, reporting falsely that Sweden and the UK were "the member states who opposed it to the end".

Swedish SvD were also late in telling the truth, giving in first when readers of the international media contacted them in protest.

The talks with the US were supposed to concern all forms of espionage, an attempt to ease transatlantic tensions brought on by recent revelations. But now the talks will be limited to a discussion of how PRISM affects personal integrity.

German Spiegel published additional information obtained from Edward Snowden last week on how the US spied on EU offices in Brussels and Washington DC, and also conducted espionage in Germany, France, and other EU countries. It is precisely this new information that the EU now may not, as of the Friday vetoes by Sweden and the UK, discuss with the US.

An attempt was made late Thursday evening to discuss the matter with Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, but the attempt failed.

The EU Commission had already begun the formation of two expert groups to probe into NSA espionage and to elicit clarifications from the US. The groups will now be disbanded.