Brazil presses EU for undersea cable to skirt U.S. links

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff speaks during the first meeting of the newly-formed CIASN, an interministerial committee for simplifying tax collection, at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, February 12, 2014. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff pressed ahead on Monday with plans to lay an undersea communications cable directly to Europe to reduce Brazil's reliance on the United States following reports that Washington spied on Brasilia.

At the annual EU-Brazil summit, Rousseff is seeking to define financing for the $185 million (£111.1 million) project that could be in place next year in an effort to shield Brazil's Internet traffic from U.S. surveillance, EU and Brazilian officials said.