Snowden Spying Claims: US 'Bugged EU Offices'

The European Union has "confronted" the US over fresh spying allegations that its offices in Brussels and the US were bugged by Washington.

German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported the new claims by former US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden, who is on the run from US authorities seeking his extradition over intelligence leaks.

The reports are likely to strain America's relations with its European partners, with one top German official already accusing the US of using "Cold War" methods against its allies.

The newspaper said its report was based on confidential documents, some of which it had been able to consult via Snowden.

One document describes how the US National Security Agency (NSA) installed microphones in a building housing the EU's diplomatic mission in Washington.

The "strictly confidential" paper, dated September 2010, also shows its computer network had been infiltrated to provide access to emails and internal documents.

The EU delegation at the UN was also subject to similar surveillance and leaked documents referred to the Europeans as "targets", according to the report.

And the spying also extended to the 27-member bloc's Brussels headquarters.

Der Spiegel referred to an incident "more than five years ago" when EU security experts discovered telephone and online bugging devices at the Justus Lipsius building.

In 2003, the EU announced it had found phone taps in the building targeting the offices of several countries, including Britain, France and Germany.

It was not immediately clear if Der Spiegel was referring to this case.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz has demanded a full and speedy clarification from Washington.

He said: "I am deeply worried and shocked about the allegations of US authorities spying on EU offices.

"If the allegations prove to be true, it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations."

In a statement the European Commission said: "We have immediately been in contact with the US authorities in Washington DC and in Brussels, and have confronted them with the press reports.

"They have told us they are checking on the accuracy of the information released yesterday and will come back to us."

Meanwhile, German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said: "If the media reports are accurate, then this recalls the methods used by (our) enemies during the Cold War.

"It is beyond comprehension that our friends in the United States see Europeans as enemies."

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also waded into the row, saying the US was "out of control".

"The US would do better to monitor its intelligence services instead of its allies," he added.

US Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes refused to be drawn into commenting directly on the allegations in a briefing in Johannesberg, but said it was "worth noting" the US was "very close" to EU security services.

EU's Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding had already written to US Attorney General Eric Holder before the latest allegations surfaced, calling for answers about its internet spy programme.

In a speech on June 14, he said: "Fundamentally, this is a question of trust.

"Trust of citizens towards their governments and to the governments of partner nations."

Earlier this month, Snowden revealed details of the top-secret Prism programme operated by the NSA.

He subsequently fled to Hong Kong before escaping to Moscow where he is currently in transit in an airport awaiting asylum from a country that will accept him.

Snowden has been supported by the whistleblowing organisation WikiLeaks.

Founder Julian Assange, who himself is living inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, told US network ABC: "This isn't a situation that WikiLeaks is in charge of.

"This is a matter for states at a very, very serious level to understand and to sort out - and to behave responsibly."

Prism collects and analyses information from internet and phone users around the world, with access to data from Google, Yahoo! and other internet firms.

US officials say the information gathered is vital in the fight against global terrorism.