The consultations in Washington are held in response to the scandal that erupted following media reports about large-scale spying by the US.
"The Monday consultations in Washington will first of all address data protection matters. Addressing the intelligence topic is not expected, unless Americans decide to put forward their vision," an official of the Lithuanian presidency of the EU Council told BNS on Friday.
The EU delegation for the Washington visit is yet to be approved. Diplomatic sources said the so-called “silence procedure” on EU delegation composition and mandate will continue until Friday noon Brussels time. The delegation will be made public, if no objections are stated by that time.
Over the past few weeks, EU media reports about online intelligence by the US government under the Prism program and potential spying on conversations at EU institutions triggered heated reactions.
Some European politicians have called for suspension of EU-US free trade negotiations until the issues are cleared. US and EU officials then suggested that experts of both sides should meet for a discussion of sensitive intelligence and data protection matters before the start of the free trade agreement talks.
