EU updates its travel guidelines
(MENAFN) The European Union has updated its travel guidelines, advising staff heading to the U.S. to use basic devices like burner phones and stripped-down laptops to reduce the risk of espionage, according to the Financial Times. The guidance comes amid increasing trade tensions between Brussels and Washington over U.S. tariff hikes.
Sources indicate that the European Commission has implemented these measures for staff traveling to upcoming meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Officials have been instructed to carry prepaid phones that are not linked to their identity and laptops with minimal data. They are also advised to turn off their devices and place them in anti-surveillance sleeves upon arrival in the U.S.
These precautions mirror those already used for travel to countries like Ukraine and China, where concerns about Russian and Chinese surveillance are high. One source reportedly said, "They are worried about the US getting into the Commission systems," while another claimed, "The transatlantic alliance is over."
The European Commission confirmed the update to its travel guidance but declined to offer further details.
Luuk van Middelaar, chief of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, explained that the guidance reflects a shift in approach. He pointed to the 2013 WikiLeaks revelations about U.S. surveillance of then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel as an example of Washington's use of extrajudicial methods to advance its interests. While acknowledging that the U.S. is not as extreme as China or Russia, van Middelaar stated that Washington is still an adversary prone to these tactics.
This move follows U.S. President Donald Trump's recent tariff announcement, which included additional duties on EU imports, accusing the bloc of unfair trade practices. Although Trump paused some of the tariffs for 90 days, a 10% duty remains in place. In response, the EU condemned the action and threatened to impose its own tariffs on U.S. tech firms like Meta and Google if negotiations do not yield a new trade deal.
Tensions between the EU and U.S. extend beyond trade issues, with Trump's threats to withdraw U.S. security guarantees unless NATO funding is increased and frustrations over being excluded from U.S.-Russia talks on Ukraine.
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