Spain summoned the United States ambassador on Monday to discuss alleged spying on Spanish citizens and said, if true, the action was an “unacceptable behaviour” by an ally.
Earlier, Spanish newspaper, El Mundo, said the National Security Agency recently tracked over 60 million calls in Spain in the space of a month, citing a document which it said formed part of papers obtained from ex-NSA contractor, Edward Snowden.
“Spain has relayed to the US the importance of preserving a climate of trust and its interest in understanding the full reach of practices that, if true, would be considered inappropriate and unacceptable between allies,” the Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement.
Madrid has also asked the US to provide more data from the NSA, it said.
The statement was issued after a meeting between Spain’s Secretary of State for the European Union, Inigo Mendez de Vigo, and US Ambassador to Spain, James Costos.
“We will continue to confer with our allies, such as Spain, through our regular diplomatic channels to address the concerns that they have raised,” Costos said in a statement.
US President Barack Obama has ordered a review of US surveillance programmes after Snowden leaked documents that raised alarm in the US and abroad.
Spain has so far resisted calls from Germany for the EU’s 28-member states to reach a “no-spy deal”, after reports that the NSA monitored the telephone of German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
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