Snowden speech to EU parliament could torpedo US trade talks
IDG News Service - A U.S. legislator warned the European Parliament Tuesday that inviting former NSA contractor Edward Snowden to address them could torpedo a transatlantic trade agreement worth more than a!2 billion a year.
Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan who is chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told reporters at the European Parliament that his thoughts on Snowden were "not fit to print" and that it was "beneath the dignity" of the E.U. institution to invite him to speak.
Rogers added that such a move would damage ongoing dialogue between the U.S. and the E.U. on issues such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
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Parliament has asked Snowden to speak to the committee investigating allegations of NSA spying on E.U. citizens. MEP Sophie In't Veld said that, behind closed doors, visiting U.S. politicians had described Snowden as a traitor and attempted to put pressure on MEPs not to invite him to give a video address.
"It's incredible. They came here to warn us not to speak to him 'or else.' Well, we in the Parliament damn well decide ourselves who to speak to," she said. "It's about time we stopped behaving like a political midget. I hate protectionism, but we have 500 million consumers and American companies are going to want access to that market."
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/121713-snowden-speech-to-eu-parliament-277008.html
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