The European Commission has taken an unexpected step by providing staff members with temporary phones and laptops during their U.S. visits to prevent espionage attempts. The implementation of security measures typically used for China and Russia demonstrates increasing tensions between the EU and the U.S., according to the Financial Times.
The European Commission has implemented these new security measures before the upcoming World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund spring meetings in Washington, D.C. The Financial Times obtained information from four sources who verified that the Commission modified its cybersecurity guidance to instruct EU officials to use “clean” devices when visiting the United States.
The discovery of NSA surveillance on German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the past has not been unprecedented, yet the current situation represents a major breakdown of trust between European Union and United States relations. An EU official declared to the newspaper that the transatlantic partnership has reached its end.
The new policy change emerged after multiple U.S. actions, which included detaining EU travelers at borders and digital surveillance concerns and diplomatic tensions under current U.S. leadership. Germany, along with France and other EU nations, has modified their travel warning system to specify possible difficulties for LGBTQ+ tourists.
The situation worsened when France filed a complaint because a scientist faced U.S. entry denial after officials discovered political content on their phone. European leaders express doubt about the U.S. explanation of holding sensitive data after the denial of entry.
The European Commission attempted to minimize their decision by updating generic travel guidelines, but experts interpret this as an indirect acknowledgment of current geopolitical tensions. According to Luuk van Middelaar of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, Washington functions differently from Beijing and Moscow yet remains an opposing power. The practice of using burner tech appears to be transforming into an accepted standard.
