Germany 'drastically reduced' SIGINT collection for NSA

BERLIN, May 8 (UPI) -- Germany's BND has reportedly reduced its intelligence collection activities for the United States National Security Agency.

The move follows revelations made by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that NSA had spied on European officials and companies.

New rules governing surveillance collection require "clear justification," something the NSA has supposedly failed to give BND.

Konstantin von Notz, a Green party ombudsman on the parliamentary committee investigating the Snowden leaks, welcomed the BND's pull back. "This is certainly a drastic step," he noted.

BND chief Gerhard Schindler testified at a secret session of the parliamentary committee Wednesday evening. According to media reports, Schindler told the committee that BND officers did not keep records of data they passed to NSA and claimed BND could not retrieve the searches, making it impossible to review older taskings.

Some parliamentarians have suggested the BND is trying to cover up possible mistakes.

Spiegel Online reported that Schindler testified about the focus of BND's surveillance and attempted to downplay the political fallout. He underlined that while European politicians and companies were on the surveillance list, the focus was on Africa and Far East, suggesting there was little interest in the politicians' emails.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has faced pressure both in Germany and with European politicians to respond to allegations that BND helped the NSA to spy on U.S. targets in Germany and neighboring countries.

On Wednesday, Merkel told Radio Bremen "I will testify and answer questions where necessary and that would be in the parliamentary inquiry if desired. I'm happy to do that."