A European Parliament delegation headed to Washington to get to the bottom of alleged US spying, the NSA's director dismissed claims of phone tapping as false.

MEPs probe mass surveillance in Washington

Who is the United States  spying on in Europe?

How can abuses of international  intelligence be avoided?

On their arrival to the US Congress, MEPs  hoped to see answers to these questions,

The Congress kicked off  with a meeting with Mike Rogers,

Chairman of the Permanent Select  Committee on Intelligence.

We’re starting to highlight areas  where we can work together

to cover our differences,  protect our relationship

between our EU allies and the United States  and still protect the ability

to collect information that keeps  both our allies and the US safe.

How to strike the right balance  between security and privacy?

For the EU, the revelations  of NSA phone tapping has cast doubt

on the extent to which the US  administration is respecting this boundary.

We are concerned too about security  and we made that very clear.

But also there is a balance  to be struck with privacy of citizens.

I think these frank exchanges  need to rebuild that very important trust.

The director of the NSA has dismissed  accusations of spying on the phone records

He claims that their European partners  shared the data with them.

European delegation rapporteurs  have met with the NSA director.

They state that even if  this information is confirmed,

If that’s the case,  it has to be finished too, full stop!

If one is a sinner,  he cannot blame others for being sinners.

The allegations remain of mass surveillance  and individual spying allegations

and it’s very important that we try  to get to the truth of what is happening.

Truth is hard to ascertain  in such intelligence agencies,

According to Jan Philipp Albrecht,  specialist in this field of digital rights

and data protection,  a transatlantic agreement must be found.

What we need to do is to build up  new rules on privacy protection

and on common standards  for the control of intelligence services

so that people regain trust  in democracy and rule of law.

Clear rules and a legal framework could  serve to reassure European companies

at a time when the free trade agreement  is being negotiated.