EU officials targeted in US spying: report THE European Union was one of the "targets" of Washington's huge internet spy program, with bugs hidden in EU offices in Brussels and the United States, German weekly Der Spiegel said in an edition to be published on Sunday. The magazine said the claims were based on confidential documents it was partly able to consult through US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who this month revealed the existence of the so-called PRISM program operated by the US National Security Agency (NSA). A document dated September 2010 and classed as "strictly confidential" describes how the secretive NSA kept tabs on the European Union's diplomatic mission in Washington, the magazine said. Microphones were installed in the building and the computer network had been infiltrated, giving the agency access to emails and internal documents. The EU representation at the United Nations was subject to similar surveillance, Der Spiegel said, adding that the leaked documents explicitly referred to the Europeans as "targets." The spying extended to the 27-member bloc's Brussels headquarters, Der Spiegel said, referring 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 discovered phone taps in the building targeting the offices of several countries, including Germany, Britain and France. But it was not immediately clear if Der Spiegel was referring to this case. In reactions published on the magazine's website, European Parliament chief Martin Schulz said more information was needed but if the spying allegations proved correct, "it's a huge scandal." "It would be a big strain on the relations between the EU and the US," he added. Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said US spying was "out of control." The US would do better to monitor its intelligence services instead of its allies. The top-secret PRISM program collects and analyses information from internet and phone users around the world, with access to data from Google, Yahoo! and other internet firms. The European bloc earlier demanded swift answers from Washington about the program, warning of "grave adverse consequences" for the rights of EU citizens.