The European Union has demanded that the United States explain a report in a German magazine that Washington is spying on the group, using unusually strong language to confront its closest trading partner over its alleged surveillance activities.
The United States taps half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany in a typical month and has classed its biggest European ally as a target similar to China, according to secret US documents quoted by a German newsmagazine.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended government monitoring of Internet communications on Monday said that Washington's cyber-snooping had helped prevent attacks on German soil.
The European Central Bank on Monday sought to quash speculation about the shape its planned bond-buying programme will take, saying that it is misleading to talk about decisions not yet taken.
German prosecutors will soon decide whether to bring criminal charges of market manipulation against the former top management of German sportscar maker Porsche AG, magazine Der Spiegel reported.
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Sunday called for the creation of a "United States of Europe", saying the bloc needed a common government to avoid future economic crises.
European governments should give private creditors an incentive to participate in a new Greek bailout, but the choice should be voluntary and not trigger a credit event, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.