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BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union leader has laughed off allegations that Germany's foreign intelligence service may have spied on his office on behalf of the United States.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday that given the rumors of spies in Brussels, "the Commission should have a secret service."
He said it is up to "the German authorities to deal with that, and I suppose that they will do so."
German media are reporting that the BND intelligence agency was asked by the U.S. National Security Agency to monitor telecommunications traffic in a way that might have gone against German interests. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper cited secret government documents claiming the targets included senior officials in France and at the EU Commission.
The Commission, for its part, does "not spy on anyone," Juncker spokesman Margaritis Schinas said, tongue-in-cheek. "We would be a bit disappointed if our activities, our role in this world, did not draw some attention from outside."
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