Spain is one of USA's main spy targets, says Der Spiegel

It cites documents belonging to former CIA analyst and exiled whistleblower, Edward Snowden, which claim the National Security Agency (NSA) defined 'intelligence priorities' in terms of the numbers 1 to 5, with 1 being 'maximum interest' and 5, 'little interest'.

Germany is around the middle-upper range, along with France and Japan, and only slightly ahead of Spain and France.

In terms of the USA's focus of interest, it has Germany on a level 3 for foreign policies, economic stability, and analysis of financial risks; level 4 for arms exportation and international trade, and level 5 for cyber-attacks.

The European Union as a whole is on level 3 for international trade, foreign policies and economic stability.

According to the article in the German broadsheet, the USA has been spying on EU and United Nations outposts in Washington and New York.

Its main countries under focus of the spying operation are China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea and Afghanistan, the Der Spiegel reporter says.

This week, the government of German chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed that a pact between the NSA and German spy networks was sealed during the previous president, Gerhard Schröder's reign and during that of the now-current leader of the social-democrat opposition, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The BND, one of three German spy departments, together with the Constitution Protection department of the ministry for the interior and the military spy group, MAD, is under direct control of the minister for the chancery.

President of the BND, Gerhard Schindler, has confirmed to several German media that mobile telephone numbers were passed to the NSA, although he stresses that these were because the holders of the numbers were suspected of terrorism.

Full details of spy operations against Spain were not revealed in the article, but Spain and Italy are thought to be under the same espionage focus levels, not far below Germany.