In an interview with Russia Today published on Friday, Daly said she is not surprised with the lax attitude European governments took to revelations of the US spying on other governments.

American whistleblower Edward Snowden has leaked two top secret US government spying programs under which the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are eavesdropping on millions of American and European phone records and the Internet data from major Internet companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

The Irish MP believes the EU states did not react to the revelations firmly because they fear economic and political pressure from the US.

“They have a reason to be fearful because the United States is using its weight – its economic weight, in some instances, and its military weight in others – to intimidate those countries. I think we saw that graphically with Ecuador – threatening to take their trade preferences from them if they were to give him asylum,” she said.

Daly has also complained of Ireland government’s attitude towards the US.

Daly, who is a great supporter of Snowden’s struggle, considers him an international hero.

The revelations have drawn international criticism, but several US government officials including President Obama and FBI director Robert Mueller defend the secret spying programs claiming that they are essential to the fight against terrorism.

NTJ/BA