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Merkel Says Gaps With U.S. Over Surveillance Remain Merkel Signals Tension Persists Over U.S. Spying
(about 7 hours later)
WASHINGTON — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said Friday that there were still significant differences between Germany and the United States over the issue of surveillance, and warned that it was too soon to return to “business as usual” between the two allies. WASHINGTON — President Obama tried to mend fences with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on Friday, calling her “one of my closest friends on the world stage.” But Ms. Merkel replied tartly that Germany still had significant differences with the United States over surveillance practices and that it was too soon to return to “business as usual.”
At a joint news conference at the White House, both Ms. Merkel and President Obama addressed the tensions between the two countries caused by the disclosure last October that the National Security Agency had eavesdropped on Ms. Merkel’s phone calls. At the time, Ms. Merkel said that “spying between friends is simply unacceptable,” and that there had been a breach of trust that would have to be repaired. The cordial but slightly strained encounter, which played out as the two leaders stood next to each other at a Rose Garden news conference, attested to the lingering scars left by the sensational disclosure last October that the National Security Agency had eavesdropped on Ms. Merkel’s phone calls.
Speaking in the Rose Garden after a meeting with Mr. Obama, Ms. Merkel said that “we have a few difficulties still to overcome,” noting in particular a difference “on the issue of proportionality.” It came as the two leaders sought to project a unified front against Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, threatening President Vladimir V. Putin with sweeping new sanctions if Russia disrupted elections in Ukraine later this month, even as they acknowledged that not all European countries were ready to sign on to the most punishing measures.
Mr. Obama, trying to put a good face on the situation, said, “We have gone a long way to closing some of the gaps, but as Chancellor Merkel said, there are some gaps that need to be worked through.” Ms. Merkel, who last fall declared that “spying between friends is simply unacceptable” and that the United States had opened a breach of trust that would have to be repaired, said at the news conference that “we have a few difficulties yet to overcome.” One remaining issue, she said, was the “proportionality” of the surveillance.
“These are complicated issues,” the president said, as he looked over at Ms. Merkel. “We’re not perfectly aligned yet, but we share the same values, and we share the same concerns.” Mr. Obama, pointing to his administration’s efforts to restore privacy safeguards, even for non-Americans, said, “We have gone a long way in closing some of the gaps, but as Chancellor Merkel said, there are some gaps that need to be worked through.”
“Angela Merkel is one of my closest friends on the world stage, somebody whose partnership I deeply value,” Mr. Obama said. “It has pained me to see the degree to which the Snowden disclosures have created strains in the relationship.” Nearly a year after the first disclosures about the N.S.A.’s practices at home and abroad, however, the agency is emerging with a mandate to make only modest changes: some new limits on what kind of data it can hold about Americans, and stricter White House oversight of decisions to tap the cellphones of foreign leaders. The Obama administration is now turning its attention to Silicon Valley — the subject of a major White House study released Thursday — and whether the government should intervene to protect and prevent discriminatory behavior.
The president, however, denied that the administration had offered Germany a so-called no-spy agreement, saying that the United States does not offer that kind of blanket protection to any country. The failure to achieve such an agreement has impeded efforts to repair the rift between the two countries over the eavesdropping on Ms. Merkel’s phone calls. “These are complicated issues,” Mr. Obama said of the debate over surveillance and civil liberties, as he glanced over at Ms. Merkel. “We’re not perfectly aligned yet, but we share the same values, and we share the same concerns.”
Efforts to reach an agreement fell through after the two sides could not agree on the scope of the deal. The German government, American officials said, insisted that the United States not conduct any espionage on German soil, something it has not agreed to with many other close allies. The depth of their differences, however, was reflected by the failure to reach a broader intelligence-sharing agreement between the United States and Germany. The two sides could not even agree on how the talks had begun, with Mr. Obama disputing that the United States had ever offered Germany a so-called no-spy agreement.
Ms. Merkel pointedly did not answer a question about whether the personal trust between her and Mr. Obama had been restored. “We do not have a blanket no-spy agreement with any country,” he said, adding, “we’re not holding back from doing something with Germany that we somehow do with somebody else.”
Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel displayed more unity on Ukraine, and appeared to set a new trigger for much broader sanctions against Russian industry, noting that these measures would be imposed if Russia disrupted an election in Ukraine planned for May 25. Months of negotiations to reach an agreement ended unsuccessfully after the two sides could not agree on its scope. According to administration officials, the Germans insisted that the United States not conduct any unsanctioned espionage on German soil, including from its embassy in Berlin, something it has not agreed to with other allies.
“It is very much up to the Russians which road we will embark on,” Ms. Merkel said, “but we are firmly resolved to embark on that road.” Ms. Merkel did not address the negotiations directly, but said the debate showed the need for further dialogue between the United States and Germany, not just at the level of governments but also between lawmakers and the German and American people.
While Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel have tried to mend their personal ties, they worked closely to devise a common response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and aggression against Ukraine. In regular phone calls, the two leaders have agreed on sanctions against Russian officials with ties to President Vladimir V. Putin. Even as she highlighted differences with the White House, Ms. Merkel’s government advised against inviting Edward J. Snowden, the renegade former N.S.A. contractor who leaked the information about its surveillance practices, to testify before the German Parliament.
While the administration says Germany and the United States have been united in their response, the Germans have balked at imposing sweeping sanctions on Russian industries like banking and energy, because such measures could have reverberations on their economy. The German economy is more closely tied to the Russian economy than the American one is. A report by a German ministry on Friday said Mr. Snowden’s appearance would cause further damage to the relationship between the United States and Germany. The German officials had solicited an opinion from a Washington law firm suggesting that American authorities could seek to charge members of Parliament for complicity in Mr. Snowden’s publicizing of classified information.
Some German experts said the Ukraine crisis could give Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel the foundation to rebuild their relationship, reminding them that despite the suspicion generated by the surveillance disclosure, Germany and the United States still have much in common. Still, for two leaders who had bonded over thorny issues like the European financial crisis, the N.S.A. furor has taken an obvious toll. Ms. Merkel deflected a question about whether the personal trust between her and Mr. Obama had been restored.
“Despite their enormous differences in background and style, Merkel and Obama share a similar approach to crises – they react cautiously, slowly, and incrementally,” said Jackson Janes, director of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University. “That instinct has been on display again in recent months.” When Ms. Merkel was asked if she was satisfied with how the White House had responded, Mr. Obama jumped in to answer first, saying he knew how emotional the issue was in Germany.
“Angela Merkel is one of my closest friends on the world stage, somebody whose partnership I deeply value,” the president said. “It has pained me to see the degree to which the Snowden disclosures have created strains in the relationship.”
In their private meetings on Friday, an American official said, the chemistry between Ms. Merkel and Mr. Obama was still good. They spent most of their time talking about the crisis in Ukraine, where they have emerged as the two leaders marshaling the Western response.
Both kept up the pressure on Mr. Putin over Ukraine, setting a new trigger for much broader sanctions against Russian industry. Ms. Merkel noted that these measures would be imposed if Russia disrupted an election in Ukraine planned for May 25.
“Should that not be possible to stabilize the situation further, further sanctions will be unavoidable,” she said. “This is something that we don’t want.”
Mr. Obama was even more emphatic, saying, “The Russian leadership must know that if it continues to destabilize eastern Ukraine and disrupt this month’s presidential election, we will move quickly on additional steps, including further sanctions that will impose greater costs.”
While administration officials say Germany and the United States have been united in their response, the Germans have balked at sweeping sanctions on the Russian energy industry because that could reverberate on their fossil fuel-dependent economy.
Building European support for industrywide sanctions will be a challenge, Mr. Obama said, because “you’ve got 28 countries, and some are more vulnerable than others to potential Russian retaliation. And we have to take those into account. Not every country is in the same place.”
Some experts on Germany said the Ukraine crisis could give Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel the foundation to rebuild their relationship, reminding them that despite the suspicion generated by the surveillance disclosures, their countries still have much in common.
“Despite their enormous differences in background and style, Merkel and Obama share a similar approach to crises — they react cautiously, slowly, and incrementally,” said Jackson Janes, the president of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University. “That instinct has been on display again in recent months.”