Advertisement

Belgium launches investigation into German and U.S. spying

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium has begun an investigation into reports that German and U.S. intelligence agencies spied on Belgian targets, the Belgian Justice Ministry said on Friday. Belgian media said on Friday Germany's BND intelligence agency and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had intercepted communications from Belgium and other countries. "Following these revelations the Belgian security agency has started an investigation to see whether Belgian targets were in fact the subject of these alleged spying activities," a spokeswoman for the Justice Ministry said. If the allegations proved to be well-founded, appropriate action would be taken, the spokeswoman added without elaborating. In 2013, federal prosecutors investigated alleged foreign state espionage against telecoms operator Belgacom, the dominant telecoms provider in the country and a top carrier of voice traffic in Africa and the Middle East. German media reported last month that the BND had helped the NSA spy on the French president's office, the French foreign ministry and the European Commission. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing by Andrew Roche)