The German Chancellor has said that reports of US spying are straining transatlantic relations and putting a US-EU trade deal to the test.<br /><br />Angela Merkel, whose mobile phone was allegedly bugged, told a special parliamentary debate on surveillance by the US National Security Agency that all light must be shed on the matter.<br /><br />“The allegations are serious. They must be investigated and more importantly, new trust has to be re-established for the future,” she told the lower house, the Bundestag.<br /><br />Spying allegations are especially sensitive in Germany after the Nazi and communist eras. Merkel grew up in the former East, where spying by the Stasi on ordinary citizens was rife.<br /><br />Merkel says ties with the US are of “paramount” importance , but one opinion poll suggested six out of ten Germans did not think the US was a partner to be trusted.<br /><br />Berlin still wants to talk to Edward Snowden, though the whistleblower who is in Russia will not be invited to Germany.<br /><br />The country fears being put und
