“They fear that the United States will enter the commission’s systems,” said a European Union representative Financial Times.
The employees of the European Commission are accustomed to traveling with disposable phones during trips to delicate territories. An established safety measure to avoid spying electronic devices and data extraction.
Countries concerned with these measures are remarkably China or Ukraine. But from the multiple invective of President Trump against Brussels, the European Union would have decided to extend this system to the United States according to the Financial Times.
Multiple precautions
Europe would now ask certain members of its staff to use disposable phones and basic laptops to protect themselves from any form of espionage when they cross the Atlantic.
The commission also asks its employees to turn off their phone on the border of the United States and place it in a special pocket if they leave it neglected.
The first worried about this new system will be a European commissioner for the economy and two other commission employees. The three go to Washington from April 21 to 26, 2025 to try to resolve the commercial war with the United States.
In a tense political context with the US government, all information has value. Especially because customs control in the United States does not prohibit seeking the content of electronic devices.
“Washington is not Beijing or Moscow, but it is an opponent who tends to use extralegal methods to promote their interests and power,” said Luuk Van Middelaar, director of the Institute of Geopolitics of Brussels of the group of experts, in the Financial Times.
New fears over the United States
The European Union has several reasons to believe that the United States can damage it. Since the beginning of his second term, Donald Trump has multiplied attacks against Europe.
The president had announced customs duties up to 20% for the continent before stopping the restriction. He also asked certain European companies to end their inclusion and diversity program.
Source: BFM TV
