Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, is going to meet this week with French President Francois Hollande to discuss the possibility of a Europe’s own internet network, one that will allow them to avoid US spying.

Merkel, who was not happy at all upon learning that the US had been spying on her, has been quite vocal about her disapproval of the level of surveillance performed by America’s National Security Agency (NSA). She will be visiting France on Wednesday.

“We’ll talk with France about how we can maintain a high level of data protection,” Merkel said. “Above all, we’ll talk about European providers that offer security for our citizens, so that one shouldn’t have to send emails and other information across the Atlantic. Rather, one could build up a communication network inside Europe.”

According to an official in the French President’s office, Hollande is in alignment with Merkel when it comes to being able to avoid US spying. “Now that the German government is formed, it is important that we take up the initiative together,” the official said.

“We’ve got to do more for data protection in Europe, there’s no doubt about it,” Merkel said.

Apparently, France and Germany want only European intelligence agencies to have the ability to spy on its citizens; if the Americans do, it is a big no-no. I hope you can sense my sarcasm and disrespect of all bullshit coming out of the mouth of politicians.

[via Reuters, GigaOM, image via Medienmagazin pro’s flickr]