Photo: AFP

(VOVworld)- The European Union is ranked as a key priority in a list of spying targets for the US National Security Agency. German weekly Der Spiegel on Saturday cited a document leaked by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. The magazine reported that the classified document, dated April 2013, states that the US secret services are especially interested in gathering intelligence concerning the 28-member bloc's foreign policy, international trade, and economic stability. Using a ranking system from 1 to 5 (from high to low importance), topics related to new technology and energy security were assigned the lowest-level priority. Among individual countries, Washington reportedly listed China , Russia , Iran , Pakistan and North Korea among its top surveillance targets. The latest revelations appear to back up earlier NSA documents released by Snowden that claimed that Washington was snooping on EU offices in Brussels and in the States, sparking outrage among European countries.