Damage to foreign policy 'extremely high'

DW: One year after Snowden's first explosive revelations, Germany's Chief Federal Prosecutor Harald Range has announced a formal investigation into the bugging of the chancellor's mobile phone. Could this lead to more trouble for the German-American relationship?

Michael Werz: It's not an easy situation, to be sure. But those who are familiar with Europe and concerned about the German-American relationship know that the investigation is a logical consequence of the NSA's missteps. How far it leads remains to be seen. We know from experience that the NSA is not particularly generous with information and documents. In this respect, one can assume that for the moment, this will have a high political and symbolic value.

Do you see the judiciary running up against the same wall of silence as the German politicians and Chancellor Angela Merkel?

That can be assumed. This is due to two things. Firstly, there's the slightly exaggerated secrecy mentality of these institutions. Secondly, the fact that the political debate about the legality and about the political framework in general of intelligence work abroad and here in the United States has only just begun. Just a few months ago, President Barack Obama gave a keynote speech on the subject, the relationship between privacy and the protection of civil and individual rights, but also the need for intelligence investigation. Several processes and appeals procedures are being discussed at the White House. When this process is completed, it will be much easier to discuss these issues with America's allies.

You say the discussion process has only just begun. But how is it that on the one-year anniversary of the Snowden revelations, hardly anyone in the US is concerned with the issue - apart from a few think tanks in Washington and now movie director Oliver Stone, who wants to make a film about Snowden?

I think this topic has largely been dealt with. In addition, there are very mixed feelings about Edward Snowden. He has broken his oath of office, he has violated laws, he has traveled abroad and under certain circumstance made ​​information available to certain people who, from the American perspective, should not have been given this information.

On the other hand, for a majority of people under the age of 50, Snowden has sparked a necessary discussion in the US. Even the president has acknowledged this fact, after some back and forth.

In his interview with American broadcaster, NBC, Snowden was clear that he wanted his revelations to launch a serious political discussion. Has this happened, or, as many critics have said, has it been a lost year in the US?

Calling it a "lost year" is superficial, and doesn't adequately address the matter. It's not as if the intelligence bureaucracy is completely independent. It's also important to note that technological developments have been so incredibly fast, and surveillance possibilities have multiplied so quickly that neither the legislative framework nor the political process could keep up. The task now is to bridge this gap.

Snowden's revelations have severely strained the transatlantic relationship. Merkel has said that confidence has still not been restored. How would you sum up the last year?

In terms of foreign policy, the damage has been extremely high. This is true not only for Germany, but especially for Mexico and Brazil. One can only hope that a new cost-benefit calculation has been made here because the information obtained from listening in on the chancellor's phone calls is certainly out of proportion to the political costs of the breach of trust. The chancellor indicated on her last visit to Washington, though, that this loss of confidence was not irreversible.

Snowden said in his TV interview that he was homesick, that he'd like to return to the US. Is there a chance that he may one day return to his homeland? Or do you see him living out his life in Russia, or maybe Brazil?

You have to have compassion because his life in Russia is certainly not pleasant. Being exiled in Brazil would perhaps be easier to take. This will only come to an end when he goes back to the US and preliminary proceedings are started against him. Within these proceedings it will be important to make a discretionary decision. I think that at the end of his term of office, the president will have the possibility of issuing a pardon. Then, in any case, there will be more room for leeway than in the coming weeks and months.

Michael Werz is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C..