- German intelligence officials will visit Washington, Foreign Ministry spokesman says
- Germany and Brazil are drafting a joint U.N. resolution on electronic privacy, he said
- A European summit was dominated by anger over claims of widespread U.S. spying
- State Department: "We want to ensure we're collecting information because we need it"
(CNN) -- Germany is sending intelligence officials to Washington, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said Saturday, amid outrage over claims the U.S. National Security Agency monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cell phone.
The German officials will be in the U.S. capital "very soon," said the spokesman, who is not named in line with department policy.
"Representatives of all our security agencies that are involved in intelligence work will be traveling to the United States," he said.
The spokesman said it is most likely that they will meet with their respective counterparts, although he did not know exactly who they would see.
Germany and Brazil are also drafting a U.N. resolution regarding the protection of privacy in electronic communication, he said.
"It is very general, but we think this is a very important topic, that's why we are drafting it. It is still at a very early stage, so we don't know when it will be presented or if other countries will join," the spokesman said.
Europe falls out of love with Obama over NSA spying claims
U.S. relations have also soured with Brazil over reports that the United States spied on President Dilma Rousseff and her advisers.
Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden reportedly leaked the documents cited in Brazilian media reports about the alleged espionage operations, as well as those in European media outlets.
'Significant challenges'
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki referred to the leaks from Snowden in comments Friday in Washington.
"These unauthorized disclosures of classified information have of course led to criticisms of our intelligence activity by many of our friends and partners," she said. "It's created significant challenges in our relationships with some of our partners and has been, of course, a public distraction."
President Barack Obama has directed the government to review its surveillance capabilities, including with regard to its foreign partners, she said.
Obama promises changes
"We want to ensure we're collecting information because we need it and not just because we can," she said.
"We will of course continue to gather the information we need to keep ourselves and our allies safe. We of course will factor in the views of our friends and partners as we have those discussions with them, and we'll continue to balance our security needs with privacy concerns."
The U.S government fully expects that "more allegations will surface given the quantity of classified information leaked by Mr. Snowden," Psaki added.
'Deep concerns' in Europe
Anger over the claims of widespread spying by the NSA on its European allies overshadowed an EU summit held in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
EU leaders said the allegations had raised "deep concerns" among Europeans and could affect the cooperation needed for effective intelligence gathering.
"A lack of trust could prejudice the necessary cooperation in the field," the leaders said in a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the European Council meeting.
Germany and France intend to seek talks with the United States "with the aim of finding before the end of the year an understanding on mutual relations in that field," the EU leaders' statement said. Other nations are welcome to join these talks, it noted.
Merkel said the assertions that the U.S. National Security Agency spied on her and other world leaders had "severely shaken" relationships between Europe and the United States, and that trust would have to be rebuilt.
Merkel: Relations with U.S. 'severely shaken' over spying claims
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced Friday that Madrid had summoned U.S. Ambassador James Costos over the matter, a day after Germany summoned the U.S. envoy to Berlin over its concerns.
The German spying allegation came in the same week that the French daily newspaper Le Monde reported claims that the NSA intercepted more than 70 million phone calls in France over a 30-day period.
French President Francois Hollande said Friday there is an "ongoing dialog" with the United States over its past actions, but the priority is establishing a "code of conduct" for the present and future.
