Obama calls EU surveillance 'standard global procedure' following European outrage

President Barack Obama has called the practice of monitoring allies standard in the international intelligence community while defending America's spy agencies surveillance of European governments.

Obama in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, suggested that the US allies engage in surveillance programmes.

According to Politico, he suggested intelligence agencies are always going to be in the business of monitoring other countries.

Obama at a joint press conference with Tanzania's president, Jakaya Kikwete, said that is how intelligence operations work, adding that they are seeking additional insight beyond what's available through open sources.

America's top intelligence service reportedly targeted the European Union offices with its spying activities in Washington and at UN headquarters in New York.

According to German magazine SPIEGEL, the National Security Agency placed bugs in the EU representation in Washington and infiltrated its computer network.

The magazine claimed that cyber attacks were also carried out against Brussels in New York and Washington.

It was also claimed that NSA not only conducted online surveillance of European citizens, but also specifically targeted buildings housing European Union institutions.