The European Commission is now issuing ‘burner’ phones and laptops to employees traveling to the United States on official business. The measure reflects growing concerns about espionage activities. The relationship between the EU and the US seems to have reached a new low in terms of digital trust.
According to the Financial Times, the European Commission has adjusted its guidelines for employees traveling on business to the US. The commission now provides clean, shielded hardware to limit the risk of digital espionage. Until now, this practice was mainly applied when traveling to countries such as China and Russia.
“The transatlantic alliance is over,” an EU official told the newspaper. To avoid the risk of espionage, the commission now provides burners and simple, secure laptops to employees traveling to the US.
Deteriorating relations between the EU and US
Several EU countries, including Germany, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Ireland, have already tightened their travel advice for citizens who want to visit the US. They advise travelers to strictly adhere to all requirements or consider not going at all after several EU and UK visitors were detained for visa and immigration violations.
The relationship between the US and Europe has cooled considerably in recent months. This is due to a series of events, including tariffs on European exports, threats regarding Greenland, controversies surrounding Elon Musk, and, above all, Trump’s unreliability. All of this has led to growing mistrust within the EU.
This development fits into a larger pattern of increasing digital security concerns. Recently, the Dutch Ministers, led by prime minister Dick Schoof, decided to ban all electronic devices, including smartphones and smartwatches, during official meetings. These measures were introduced for cybersecurity reasons.
Standard procedure or exceptional measure?
Burner phones have become a fairly common practice for people in sensitive positions. Nevertheless, this specific tightening is seen as an indication of how seriously relations between Europe and the US have deteriorated. Although a certain degree of espionage between allies is expected, the recommendation to bring new or clean devices is new in the US relationship.
“Washington is not Beijing or Moscow, but it is an adversary that is prone to use extra-legal methods to further its interests and power”, Luuk van Middelaar, director of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, told the Financial Times. “Democratic administrations use the same tactics. It is an acceptance of reality by the Commission.”
After all, it is not the first time that the United States has spied on its allies, and we should not doubt the United States’ capabilities when it comes to espionage.
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