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European leaders released a statement on Friday saying they were concerned about alleged U.S. spying on them and expressing concern that the practice could damage relations with Washington.

In the statement, which follows a report in The Guardian newspaper that the U.S. National Security Agency monitored the calls of 35 world leaders, the EU sought to underline "the close relationship between Europe and the USA and the value of that partnership."

It stressed that intelligence-gathering "is a vital element in the fight against terrorism."

However, it said, "A lack of trust could prejudice the necessary cooperation in the field of intelligence-gathering."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose cellphone may have been tapped according to the U.K. newspaper, said the alleged spying had sown "the seeds of mistrust."

"[It] doesn't facilitate our co-operation... it makes it more difficult," she said.

The revelations stems from documents sourced to U.S. whistleblower and former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. The Guardian also reports that the NSA has collected 70 million phone records in France.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post late Thursday suggests there might be yet another shoe to drop: It says that U.S. officials are warning some foreign intelligence services that Snowden had in his possession "sensitive material about collection programs against adversaries such as Iran, Russia and China."

The Post, quoting unnamed officials, writes:

"The process of informing officials in capital after capital about the risk of disclosure is delicate. In some cases, one part of the cooperating government may know about the collaboration while others — such as the foreign ministry — may not, the officials said. The documents, if disclosed, could compromise operations, officials said.

...

In one case, for instance, the files contain information about a program run from a NATO country against Russia that provides valuable intelligence for the U.S. Air Force and Navy, said one U.S. official, who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal investigation. Snowden faces theft and espionage charges.

'If the Russians knew about it, it wouldn't be hard for them to take appropriate measures to put a stop to it,' the official said."