US spying and EP phones: let's make sure that Cisco isn't involved in US surveillance practices!

Members of the Civil Liberties Committee in the European Parliament this morning debated what action to take following the revelations about spying on European institutions and the collection of European citizens' data by the U.S. secret services.

"Let us not fool ourselves: we need to cooperate with the United States. Our transatlantic partnership is essential, especially in the fight against terrorism and organised crime," said Véronique Mathieu Houillon MEP,  EPP Group spokeswoman on issues related to security, justice and home affairs, on Wednesday.

"But the United States needs to cooperate with the European Union as well. We should not underestimate ourselves and we must dare to weigh in as the European Union. We have a duty of truth to European citizens. For them, we must shed light on these cases," she said.

"In the Civil Liberties Committee, we are setting up an investigation group to discover what data is collected and for what purposes. The aim is to clarify 2 related cases: the massive collection of European citizens' data by the United States on the one hand, and suspected espionage and spying on European institutions on the other hand."

"But I appeal to common sense," said Mathieu Houillon. "Before we begin involving international experts and collecting as much information as possible, should we not rather ask ourselves what is happening right under our noses, on our own premises, when U.S. Cisco phones are installed in each office of the European Parliament?"

"Let us first make sure that Cisco wasn't involved in US surveillance practices and is not participating now," she said.