WikiLeaks's Assange urges EU to lift bank blockade

(BRUSSELS) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleaded with the European Union on Tuesday to help lift a crippling two-year banking blockade blamed by the whistle-blowing website on rightwing US politicians.

Speaking in a live video-link from the Ecuadoran embassy in London where he sought asylum in June, Assange said WikiLeaks had lost at least $50 million in donations since credit card companies Visa and MasterCard in December 2010 banned payments to WikiLeaks through DataCell, an Icelandic company.

"There is no sovereignty without economic sovereignty," Assange told a news conference held simultaneously in Brussels and London.

"It is concerning that hard-right elements in the United States have been able to pressure Visa and MasterCard, who together hold monopoly over the European markets, into introducing a blockade."

In a recent preliminary decision, the European Commission refused to open a formal anti-trust investigation into the matter.

WikiLeaks and DataCell on Monday appealed to the Commission to reverse that refusal. A decision is expected in four to six weeks.