Opinion: Transatlantic renaissance postponed

[unhappycamper]

http://www.dw.de/opinion-transatlantic-renaissance-postponed/a-17404005

The rebuilding of trust between Europe and the US after the NSA revelations did not happen in Munich. Europeans should now take a different path to push Washington into reforming the NSA, says DW's Michael Knigge.

Opinion: Transatlantic renaissance postponed

At its core the Munich Security Conference is a transatlantic venue for political dialogue and the exchange of ideas. Even though the conference has widened its geographical focus dramatically over the years, that fact still holds true 50 years after its inception.

So what could be a better forum to address head-on the transatlantic rift that has developed from the fallout of the NSA disclosures? Many German observers, in particular, had hoped that this would be the place where Berlin would receive the clear signal it has repeatedly demanded from Washington ever since it was revealed that the NSA was spying on German citizens and even Chancellor Angela Merkel's cell phone.

They were disappointed. To be sure, with secretaries of state and defense John Kerry and Chuck Hagel and a large congressional delegation, the US sent political heavyweights to Munich. But the admirable size of its delegation was, unfortunately, not matched by the content of its two most important members.

In their remarks, Kerry and Hagel skirted the NSA debate almost completely. Neither mentioned the spy agency once. Kerry evoked a "transatlantic renaissance" only then to merely hint at the most pernicious issue burdening the relationship.