Spain Summons US Ambassador over Claim NSA Tracked 60m Calls a Month

Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Sapin

THE GUARDIAN: El Mundo newspaper reports having seen NSA document that reveals extent of agency's monitoring of Spanish phone calls

The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has summoned the US ambassador to explain the latest revelations to emerge from the files leaked by Edward Snowden, which suggest the National Security Agency tracked more than 60m phone calls in Spain in the space of a month.

Spain's European secretary of state, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, is meeting James Costos as the White House struggles to contain a growing diplomatic crisis following accusations that the NSA monitored the phones of scores of allies, including the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

El Mundo newspaper reported on Monday that it had seen an NSA document that showed the US spy agency had intercepted 60.5m phone calls in Spain between 10 December 2012 and 8 January this year. » | Paul Hamilos in Madrid | Monday, October 28, 2013

EL MUNDO: Margallo: si se confirma el espionaje, podría suponer 'ruptura de confianza' entre España y EEUU » | Ana Romero | Madrid | Lunes, 28 de octubre 2013

EL MUNDO: La NSA niega que Obama aprobara el espionaje a Merkel » | Europa Press – Berlin, Reuters – Washington | Lunes, 28 de Octubre 2013

Mariano Rajoy: 'Gibraltar Is an Anachronism and the Last Colony' in Europe

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has taken his complaints over Gibraltar to the United Nations, calling the territory an "anachronism".


Mr Rajoy's speech, delivered in New York on Tuesday night, was scripted to refer to Gibraltar as "a colonial anachronism." But, perhaps mindful of the anger the phrase would cause, he delivered a more nuanced speech and omitted the word "colonial."

He did, however, reiterate Spain's claim to the territory – something which Madrid first brought to the UN in 1963.

"Once again, I must place before this Assembly the question of Gibraltar, a British colony, which this Organisation included, in 1963, in the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories awaiting decolonisation.

"This is the only such territory in Europe, and one that affects our own territorial integrity.

"Since that date, the UK has ignored the mandate of the UN General Assembly and the commitment made to Spain in the 1984 Brussels Declaration.

"This anachronism continues to inconvenience the citizens of Gibraltar and the surrounding area." » | Harriet Alexander | Thursday, September 26, 2013