This is confirmed by the Prime Minister’s office to NRK.
– I am glad that the Americans make it clear that they changed their practice in 2014 when it comes to monitoring allies – and that they will work with us and others to clarify what has happened. We have today convened the US Embassy in Oslo to follow up on this invitation, says Prime Minister Erna Solberg to NTB.
On Thursday, Solberg had a conversation with the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
– I repeated to her that we consider espionage against close friends and allies as unacceptable and unnecessary, says Solberg.
On Twitter, Minister of Defense Frank Bakke-Jensen (H) writes that the Ministry of Defense had a meeting with the American embassy in Oslo on Thursday.
Danish revelation
It was Danmarks Radio (DR) which revealed, via a number of secret sources, that the United States has conducted targeted espionage against high-ranking politicians and officials in Norway, Sweden, Germany and France.
It must have happened through a Danish-American collaboration. The NSA is said to have gained access via Danish internet cables, to collect large amounts of data from allied countries in Europe.
It is not known which specific politicians from Norway should have been on the watch lists.
DR has received confirmation of the names of three German politicians the NSA is said to have spied on: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and former German opposition leader Peer Steinbrük.
The monitoring is said to have taken place in 2012 and 2014, according to DR.
Strong reactions
When the news broke this weekend, was the reactions are strong.
Both France, Germany and Sweden have all demanded answers from Denmark and the United States about the accusations.
On Thursday, the Swedish Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist said that he is not satisfied with the answers he has received so far.
– I believe that we have not received satisfactory information yet. We must continue the process and therefore I am planning new contacts in this matter. Not only with Denmark, but we will also renew contact with the United States, Hultqvist said after informing the politicians in the Riksdag’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Red wants answers
In Norway, the parliamentary representative for Rødt, Bjørnar Moxnes, says that he wants to know what came out during the meeting with the American embassy.
– Rødt demands that the government report to the Storting on what it has done to get to the bottom of this during the six months that have passed since the case became known, Moxnes says.
Erna Solberg states that the Danes are now conducting a broad review of their intelligence service.
– We agree to be in close contact about matters that affect us, she says.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Wednesday that one should not conduct systematic monitoring of allies, and that she does not believe that Denmark’s relations with, for example, Germany and France have been damaged. The United States on Tuesday promised to answer all questions.
The Danish-American spy cooperation is now being investigated by an independent commission in Denmark. The commission is expected to complete its work this autumn.
CORRECTION: The earlier version of the case stated that the Prime Minister was summoning the US Ambassador. The correct thing is that the government convened representatives from the US Embassy.
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