WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs, today announced that he will lead a bipartisan Congressional Delegation to meet with leaders of several European countries to help cement the relationship between the United States and Europe, and discuss recent allegations regarding the scope of U.S. intelligence gathering operations in Europe.

“Over the last several months, our European allies have raised legitimate concerns about the nature and scope of U.S. intelligence programs, and I agree that at times, U.S. surveillance programs have not been conducted with the appropriate restraint and security, both in the United States and in Europe,” said Murphy. “While foreign citizens do not enjoy the same constitutional protections as American citizens, the United States should have processes in place that assure non-U.S. citizens that all possible steps are being taken to limit the scope of our surveillance programs so that we are targeting only the information absolutely necessary to find and catch individuals who pose a security threat to the United States and our allies. My goal for these meetings will be to help cement the overall relationship between the United States and Europe and discuss surveillance programs in our countries.”

Additional details about the trip will be released in the coming days.