BRUSSELS — Senior European Union officials will question their American counterparts about previously undisclosed US surveillance programs during a trans-Atlantic ministerial meeting in Dublin starting Thursday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will also raise the issue with President Barack Obama when he visits Berlin next week. The European Commission said Monday it was concerned about the impact of such programs on the privacy of EU citizens and said overall problems involving data privacy had already been raised by EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding during talks with her US counterparts in April. “This case shows that a clear legal framework for the protection of personal data is not a luxury or constraint, but a fundamental right,” Reding said in a reaction to the case. Germany's Interior Ministry says it is in contact with American authorities to try to clarify details, and determine whether there was any infringement of German citizens' rights, after reports emerged last week of a phone records collection program and Internet-scouring program used by US intelligence. — AP
