Home affairs minister Ronald Plasterk wants to make agreements with the US about the activities of its security service NSA in relation to the Netherlands and Dutch nationals, news agency ANP reports.

A spokesman for the minister said talks are already underway between the NSA and Dutch security service AIVD. The minister was reacting to reports that NSA tapped into 1.8 million phone calls in the Netherlands in one month month last year.

‘The Dutch government has already spoken about its concerns and unease… A working group has been set up at a European level together with the Americans to get the facts straight, and it will report back shortly,’ the statement said.

‘At the same time, the Dutch service has been in talks with NSA to see if mutual agreements can be reached.’

Parliament

Opposition party D66 has called on Plasterk to brief parliament on the latest espionage claims as soon as possible.

‘Last week, the minister could not rule out foreign security services keeping an eye on the Dutch,’ said MP Gerard Schouw. ‘Now it appears we are talking about 1.8 million phone calls in a month. I have the impression the Dutch government has no idea what is going on.’