Germany ‘sees no reason’ to offer asylum to Snowden / German Trust in United States Plummets

EurActiv reported on the 6 November 2013 that an increasing number of German public figures were calling for Edward Snowden to be offered asylum in the country, while Berlin maintained that the conditions for granting the whistleblower refuge remained unfulfilled.

German media reported on the 8 November 2013 that the NSA spying scandals have taken a toll on Germans' opinion of their longtime ally, according to a new survey. Mistrust in the United States has skyrocketed, and more Germans are viewing whistleblower Edward Snowden as a hero.

On the 18 November 2013, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that reports of US spying in Germany - including bugging her mobile phone - were straining transatlantic ties.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Merkel's phone tapped by the US, Germany claims http://www.europeansources.info/record/merkels-phone-tapped-by-the-us-germany-claims/

ESO: Background information: EU-US: The real transatlantic confidence crisis http://www.europeansources.info/record/eu-us-the-real-transatlantic-confidence-crisis/

Spiegel Online International, 08.11.13: Spying Fallout: German Trust in United States Plummets http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/nsa-spying-fallout-majority-of-germans-mistrust-united-states-a-932492.html

Deutsche Welle, 08.11.13: Germans' trust in US plummets in wake of spying scandal http://dw.de/p/1AE09

BBC News, 18.11.13: Angela Merkel: Spy claims test US ties with Germany http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24992485

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