The European Parliament threatened Wednesday to block a landmark free trade deal between the European Union and the United States if Washington does not end its mass spying activities. Negotiators are meeting in Brussels this week for a fourth round of talks on the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP), which would create the world's largest free-trade area. But the parliament would have to approve any deal for it to come into effect.
That "could be endangered as long as blanket mass surveillance activities and the interception of communications in EU institutions and diplomatic representations are not fully stopped," the parliament said in a report adopted in a 544-78 vote.
"As Europeans we must be more determined in promoting our values and protecting our citizens on- and offline," its president, Martin Schulz, said in a statement.
The vote follows a six-month inquiry by the legislature into US spying allegations, which have outraged privacy-conscious Europeans.
The parliament also called for the suspension of two data-sharing agreements with Washington and for the creation of a whistleblower protection programme in Europe.
Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who has leaked information about his country's spying activities, told the legislature in written testimony last week that he had unsuccessfully sought asylum in several EU countries.
The parliament on Wednesday also moved to limit personal-data transfers out of Europe, suggesting that new EU data protection rules currently being negotiated should require companies to seek authorization for such transfers.
Firms that violate the rules should be fined up to 100 million euros (139 million dollars), or 5 per cent of their annual global turnover, the legislature said.
EU member states, however, have to agree to the new legislation, which is not expected to be finalized until 2015.
The BusinessEurope association criticized the parliament's initiative, predicting that it would "hamper data-driven innovation" in Europe.
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