The European Commission is giving staffers visiting the US on official business burner laptops and phones to avoid espionage attempts, according to the Financial Times. The use of clean and locked-down hardware is common practice for anyone visiting China, Russia, and other states where aggressive electronic surveillance is expected. Apparently the European Union has added the United States to that list. "The transatlantic alliance is over," an EU official told the newspaper, which reported the commission "is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage — a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China." Next week, officials from the EU are due in Washington DC for the spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. Four sources told the FT the EC had changed its guidance to ensure that visitors to America take serious precautions against cyber-espionage. "They are worried about the US getting into the commission systems," said one. The relationship between the US and Europe has chilled severely in the past few months since President Trump threatened to invade Greenland, slapped tariffs on Euro imports, backed a Sieg-Heil'ing Elon Musk, sent Vice President JD Vance to lecture the continent on free speech, humiliated Ukraine's president, and made other smart foreign policy moves. Germany, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Ireland have all altered their travel advice for citizens visiting the Land of the Free, mainly urging travelers to follow all requirements as strictly as possible or consider simply not going, after a bunch of visitors from the EU and UK were detained for visa and immigration infractions. Trans-gendered travelers are advised that they may be barred from entry. France’s minister of higher education and research, Philippe Baptiste, lodged an official complaint last month after one French boffin was reportedly barred from entering the country for a conference after a border patrol examination of their phone found what was said to be extreme anti-Trump comments, although the US says it was because officers found confidential American information in the scientist's possession. Taking a burner device, to be honest, sounds like standard practice for people in sensitive lines of work, though this is all being interpreted as an indication of quite how badly relations have slipped between Europe and the US. And while a certain amount of spying on one's allies is expected – former German chancellor Angela Merkel was most peeved when it turns out her phone was being bugged by the NSA – a recommendation to take fresh devices is something new. Ultimately, spies spy, and when it comes to spying on the world, no one doubts America's abilities, regardless of who is in charge. "Washington is not Beijing or Moscow, but it is an adversary that is prone to use extra-legal methods to further its interests and power," Luuk van Middelaar, director of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics think tank, told the FT. "Democrat administrations use the same tactics. It is an acceptance of reality by the Commission." A European Commission spokesperson, an in email to The Register, did not deny equipment was being handed out to staff as reported. And while the spinner claimed the commission had not issued official guidance to use burner laptops and phones, they did admit it had tweaked its recommendations. "We have recently updated several country specific traveling recommendation factsheets for officials. They reflect the latest changes in the way the commission communicates and the general increase of threats globally regarding cybersecurity," the spokesperson told us. "Finally, indeed we recommend linking the e-visa to an EU laissez-passer for senior officials, in order to underline the official nature of the visit and facilitate visa processes in embassies prior to departure. Again, these updated recommendations were included in many other countries' factsheets to the attention of travelling senior officials." We understand the FT stands by its yarn. And it wouldn't be the first time the EU had denied a story, only to later confirm its veracity. ® PS: Facebook giant Meta intends to train its AI on public posts and other data in Europe after last year pausing the practice. "People based in the EU who use our platforms can choose to object to their public data being used for training purposes," the tech giant noted.