The Union is afraid of the espionage of Trump. EC employees in the USA will get prepaids

For fear of infiltration of American services, employees of the European Commission going to the US for meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will receive prepaid phones and special computers, to which it is more difficult to access outside – he said on Monday the Financial Times.

Four sources wanting to maintain anonymity informed “FT” that EU commissioners and high -ranking officials traveling to the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank to the USA will have to act according to the same security principles as during trips to Ukraine and China.

For fear of Russian and Chinese intelligence services, ordinary communication tools used by EU employees are advised against. EU officials are to use phones for prepaid cards and special computers with limited access to external networks.

After the takeover of power in Washington by the administration of Donald Trump, tension in transatlantic relations is growing.

Disputes concern, among others Trade, which in the face of Trump imposed on the EU Customs Conditions is the main topic of the EU Commissioner's visit to Marosz Gierczowicz. He will meet on Monday in Washington with the US minister for trade Howard Lutnick.

In addition, two commissioners – for economy and performance as well as implementation and simplification, Valdis Dombrovskis, and for international cooperation, Jozef Sikela – and finance commissioner Maria Luis Albuquerque will go on April 21-26 to meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank also in Washington.

Asked by the “FT” daily, the European Commission confirmed that security recommendations have recently been changed, but did not provide details. She added that the European Service of External Action worked on these changes.

According to new recommendations, all officials traveling to the United States should turn off their phones on the border and place in special pockets protecting against infiltration.

As the newspaper reminded, there is a law in the USA that allows the customs services to review the phone and travel computer. There were already cases when tourists and researchers from the Old Continent were turned back at the airport after the services discovered critical comments towards Trump's administration on their devices. (PAP)

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