Erstellt am: 25. 10. 2013 - 15:50 Uhr

"They're all at it"

Reality Check: take EU leaders' anger over NSA spying with a pinch of salt; the pitfalls of the digital single market; Turkey's democratic progress; Iran and human rights; Elevate festival in Graz.

NSA spying & EU outrage

EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande are NOT amused. First there were reports that the US National Security Agency was tapping the mobile phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and monitoring millions of French calls. Then the Guardian reported that the US had monitored the phone conversations of 35 world leaders.

International security analyst Paul Beaver, however, IS amused at the outrage so publicly expressed by the European leaders. Because they’re all at it – spying that is. France and Germany in particular are well respected for their intelligence capabilities:

The Digital Single Market

The European Commission is trying to press ahead with legislation for a single market in the EU for telecoms and internet. The Commission says this would significantly boost growth and innovation in the EU. But is it really that straighforward and what would it mean for consumers? Thomas Lohninger from the Initiative für Netzfreiheit follows these issues closely:

Turkey

Negotiations between the European Union and Turkey are a bit of a stop-and-go affair, with Brussels trying to wield a carrot and a stick to encourage reforms. Ankara's heavy-handed response to the Gezi Park protests in summer didn't go down well with some EU governments, but negotiations will resume in November. Riem Higazi talks to Gezi Park activist and doctoral candidate at the London School of African and Oriental Studies, Demet Dinler:

Iran

Things have been looking more positive on the Iran-versus-the-West front recently, with overtures by the new president Hassan Rouhani. But the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, says that doesn't mean Teheran's record on human rights should be overlooked. Analyst Shashank Joshi takes a look at what has improved, what hasn't and how many issues you can or can't pack into one set of negotiations:

Elevate

John Cummins gives us a taste of what's in store at this year's festival in Graz: