It wasn’t insignificant that it was the Fourth of July when European Union Parliment convened and voted to suspend two agreements entered into after September 11, one that allows the U.S. Governement access to financial data including wire transfers, and another allowing access to travel data, not just flights booked but who is searching for what and to where.
And as it turns out it isn’t just the EU citizens that they are worried about. France is peeved that the U.S. is looking at diplomats as well, and called for an all-out suspension of American and EU trade talks until things are sorted out a bit.
The clincher for the U.S., though, seems to be the movement Restore the Fourth, where people are saying no to the government’s watch.
Happy Independence Day, America.
