BERLIN: The European parliament is lining up Edward Snowden to give evidence by video link later this month, in spite of resistance by British Conservatives, a Green MEP has announced.

German Green Jan Philipp Albrecht said MEPs wanted Snowden to appear before the assembly’s committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs (LIBE).

Albrecht said it would represent a “great success” for the parliament’s investigation into mass surveillance of EU citizens. “Half a year after the first publications from his collection of numerous NSA documents, the truth of which has not so far been refuted, there are still consequences as far as political responsibility is concerned,” he said.

“The basic political will is there,” he said on Sunday.

“Now we will need to see if we can get a formal majority for a hearing and hope that Snowden can keep his promise to answer question on the affair”.

The LIBE committee would most likely want to seek questions on what role other European information services have played in gathering data for the NSA, as well as whether servers and data networks in the EU were used as part of the process.

Albrecht claims Snowden had expressed an initial interest via his lawyers in July, and that recent communications had firmed that up. In October, Green party MEP Christian Strobele travelled to Moscow to meet Snowden in person.

Sources within the European parliament considered it likely that committee members would vote in favour of a Snowden hearing, with the only vocal opposition represented by British Conservative MEPs.

Since the Tories [Conservatives] are no longer part of the European People’s party alliance of centre-right parties, however, one MEP described their reluctance as “not crucial”.

Since a real-time video testimony could allow Snowden’s location to be pinpointed, the committee would send questions to the US whistleblower and then play back pre-recorded answers in front of the parliament.

By arrangement with the Guardian