Story highlights European lawmakers approve in-depth inquiry into U.S. surveillance programs 
 
 European Union ambassadors meet to discuss allegations of U.S. spying 
 
 The meeting comes ahead of talks on a huge American-EU trade deal next week 
 
 Ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked details of alleged U.S. spying on allies 
 
 Allegations that the United States is spying on its European allies topped the agenda for European Union ambassadors who met Thursday in Brussels, Belgium, as the fallout from claims made by U.S. leaker Edward Snowden widened. 
 
 The meeting of the ambassadors to the European Union came ahead of talks due to begin Monday on a huge American-EU free trade deal. 
 
 They were expected to discuss the spying allegations as well as revelations about PRISM, the mass U.S. surveillance program, and a proposal to establish an EU-American working group to improve cooperation, EU spokesman Michael Mann said ahead of the meeting. 
 
 Allegations that the United States has been conducting surveillance on its European allies have prompted wide concern among European nations. 
 
 The issue dominated a conversation Wednesday between President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 
 
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 "The president assured the chancellor that the United States takes seriously the concerns of our European allies and partners," a White House statement on the phone call said. 
 
 Joint EU-American discussions are to be held on the collection and oversight of intelligence, and questions of privacy and data protection, starting as soon as Monday, it said. 
 
 Condemnation, concerns 
 
 The European Parliament voted Thursday in favor of launching an in-depth inquiry into the U.S. surveillance programs, including the alleged bugging of EU premises. 
 
 In the resolution, approved 483-98 with 65 abstentions, European lawmakers expressed concern over PRISM and other surveillance programs, strongly condemned spying on EU representations and called on U.S. authorities to provide full information on the allegations without further delay, according to a statement from the European Parliament. 
 
 The inquiry by the body's Civil Liberties Committee will gather evidence from U.S. and EU sources and present its results by the end of this year, it said. 
 
 The lawmakers also urged European authorities to "consider recourse to all levers at their disposal in negotiations" with the United States, including suspending the current deals on air passenger and bank data. 
 
 EU data protection standards should not be undermined as a result of the EU-American trade deal, the resolution warned. 
 
 Lawmakers also voiced "grave concern" over allegations that similar surveillance programs are run by several of the 28 EU member states, such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland, the statement said. 
 
 France calls for delay 
 
 French government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said Wednesday that France believes it would be wise to delay American-EU trade talks for two weeks in light of the allegations. 
 
 She was echoing remarks made by French President Francois Hollande this week after the allegations first appeared in German and British media. 
 
 But the European Commission, which will lead the negotiations for the EU, said the talks would go ahead as planned despite worries about potential snooping. 
 
 "Whilst the beginning of EU-U.S. trade negotiation should not be affected, the EU side will make it clear that for such a comprehensive and ambitious negotiation to succeed, there needs to be confidence, transparency and clarity among the negotiating partners," it said in a statement. 
 
 German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said the reports of spying would influence the planned talks, according to his spokesman, Adrian Toschev. 
 
 But the spokesman declined to back the French call for a delay to the negotiations. 
 
 Sweep for listening devices 
 
 German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday that classified leaks from Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor, detailed how the agency bugged EU offices in Washington and New York as well as conducting an "electronic eavesdropping operation" that tapped into an EU building in Brussels. 
 
 Obama said Tuesday he needed more information on the specific programs cited in the report but made clear such spying was commonplace. 
 
 "I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders," Obama said. "That is how intelligence services operate." 
 
 The European Commission will sweep its offices for electronic listening devices and other security breaches, a spokeswoman said Monday. 
 
 A comprehensive EU-American trade deal would be the biggest of its kind and could add $160 billion to annual European income, $125 billion to U.S. income and $133 billion to other economies. 
 
 Together, the United States and EU account for about half of global economic output and trade some $1 trillion in goods and services each year, supporting about 13 million jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. ||||| U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) chat during at the Chralottenburg Castle in Berlin June 19, 2013. 
 
 A man wears a mask of U.S. President Barack Obama during a protest in support of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden in front of Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, July 4, 2013. 
 
 BERLIN/WASHINGTON German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a phone call with Barack Obama on Wednesday night that she believed the U.S. president took Germany's concern over reported U.S. spying very seriously, and she hoped coming talks would bring answers. 
 
 Obama sought to allay the anger in Germany and other European allies in his call with Merkel, during which the chancellor said she made clear to him spying was not what she expected from countries considered friends. 
 
 They agreed to high level bilateral talks, in addition to planned talks between the European Union and the United States, to investigate reports that Washington spied on European allies. 
 
 German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich will travel to the United States at the end of next week, a spokesman said. 
 
 The reports came to light amid the imbroglio over former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked details of surveillance activities by Washington. He is currently in limbo in a transit area of Moscow's airport as the United States pressures Moscow to expel him home. 
 
 "I want to see the facts established," Merkel said on Thursday during a press conference in Berlin. "I hope to gain information and draw important conclusions." 
 
 She added: "I made clear spying on institutions within the European Union is not how we would expect those we consider friends to treat us. We are no longer in the Cold War." 
 
 Her comments come at the same time as a poll, published by ARD-DeutschlandTrend, showing only 49 percent of Germans consider the Americans trustworthy partners in the wake of the row - a low not seen since the presidency of George W. Bush - and down from a previous level of 65 percent. 
 
 In a statement, the White House said Obama assured Merkel the United States took the concerns seriously and officials would discuss intelligence and privacy issues as early as July 8. 
 
 WITNESS PROTECTION? 
 
 Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the SPD, said German authorities should quickly contact Snowden and consider giving him witness protection, German news magazine Spiegel said on Thursday. 
 
 Two days earlier, Germany's Foreign and Interior Ministries released a statement saying they had rejected Snowden's request for asylum, faxed to the German embassy in Moscow. 
 
 "The first step must be that the federal prosecutors office travels to Moscow to examine him as a witness," Gabriel was quoted as saying, adding if he was reliable Germany should consider whether to put him into a witness protection program. 
 
 The White House said Obama and Merkel reiterated their strong support for the launch of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, welcoming the soon-to-begin first round of discussions. 
 
 Obama promised on Monday to supply all the information requested by European allies on the allegations, which he said Washington was still evaluating. 
 
 "Every intelligence service, not just ours, but every European intelligence service, every Asian intelligence service, wherever there's an intelligence service, here's one thing they're going to be doing: they're going to be trying to understand the world better and what's going on in world capitals around the world from sources that aren't available through the New York Times or NBC News," Obama said. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington, Michelle Martin in Berlin; Writing by Alexandra Hudson; Editing by Michael Roddy)
– President Obama and Angela Merkel have discussed US spying allegations by phone, the White House says, and they're organizing a meeting between US and German security officials on the issue. "The president assured the chancellor that the United States takes seriously the concerns of our European allies and partners," the White House notes, per Reuters. Germany plans to send envoys to Washington; a meeting could come within days. EU and US officials are also set to meet as soon as July 8. Merkel and Obama both continue to support a new transatlantic trade deal, the White House adds; talks on the matter are set to begin next week. Though France has suggested delaying the talks until after spying claims are addressed, the European Commission says the discussions will go forward on schedule. Meanwhile, European Union ambassadors are reviewing the surveillance issue amongst themselves at a meeting today in Brussels, CNN reports. They'll also talk about PRISM and the possibility of creating a US-EU working group.