A German Foreign Intelligence Service (BND) employee was arrested last week over suspicions of being a US double agent, and this issue has ignited the outrage of many in Germany.

The suspected double agent allegedly passed 218 classified files to US intelligence service National Security Agency (NSA) for two years.

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During a press conference in China on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted to the allegations, saying they were serious and that it would be a breach of "trustful cooperation" between the two countries involved, Xinhua Net reported.

The arrested agent had allegedly worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and sold the classified files to the US for €25,000 (US$34,686), according to German newspaper Bild am Sonntag on Sunday. The incident sparked the anger of people in Berlin following last year's revelations of the U.S. tapping Merkel's mobile phone.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on Washington to act on the issue immediately. Justice Minister Heiko Maas, on the other hand, said the only way the US can regain their trust is to provide an explanation for the double agent scandal.

Interior Minister Thomas Maiziere stressed the importance of strong counterintelligence measures. Bild cited him saying Germany needed a "360-degree view" when it comes to intelligence, which implies the need to increase their awareness of the activities of the U.S., France, Britain, and other allies.

The newspaper also cited a leaked report from the interior ministry saying Germany was putting together "counter-measures" against monitoring activities in their communication system.

The case also stirred the anger of commentators in German media. Zeit Online said allied intelligence firms cannot just do what they want in their country and said Germany would have to "get tough" to stop the U.S. from abusing its friendship.

Tagesspiegel newspaper described the double agent scandal as the "acid test" of the U.S.-Germany ties and said the issue can affect the free-trade agreement between the two countries. On Sunday, the Stuttgarter Zeitung said the scandal showed that the U.S. did not respect Germany as a partner and that the friendship was not as real as they believed in the first place.

In a recent survey conducted by Spiegel magazine, 69 percent of Germans said their trust in the U.S. had just spiraled downward.

Should Maiziere's proposed counter-measures be approved by Merkel, Germany would have to extend their intelligence gathering to the US, China, Russia, and other countries, according to news site Deutsche Welle (DW). The paper also speculated that Germany would probably start searching for agents within the CIA to give U.S. a taste of its own spying actions.

However, German defense policy analyst Henrik Heidenkamp said this type of counter-measure would most likely not take place because it would hurt both the partnership and the interests of both the U.S. and Germany.

TagsGermany-US relations, espionage, Wire Tapping, angela merkel, Germans