The United States has assured Norway that it stopped spying on allies in 2014, according to the Nordic country’s prime minister, Erna Solberg.
“I am glad that the Americans clearly expressed that they changed their practice in 2014 when it comes to the surveillance of allies and that they would cooperate with us and others to understand what happened,” Solberg told news agency NTB Thursday, according to Reuters.
Her remarks come after Danish broadcaster DR and other news outlets reported Sunday that between 2012 and 2014, Danish secret services assisted the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to tap communications and data of politicians in Germany, France, Sweden, Norway and other countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Solberg said she also spoke to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Thursday and “reiterated to her that we consider spying on close friends and allies as unacceptable and unnecessary.”
Danish Defense Minister Trine Bramsen has previously said that “systematic interception of close allies is unacceptable.”
European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager — who was Denmark’s economy and interior minister at the time of the alleged spying — said Thursday that European countries “should not spy on your neighbors.”