from gulftoday.ae: A widening scandal over US spying on its friends and allies put the fight against terrorism centre stage on Friday as EU leaders called for a new understanding with Washington on intelligence gathering. At the close of a summit overshadowed by the spying row, all 28 EU leaders “stressed that intelligence gathering is a vital element in the fight against terrorism.” They noted “the close relationship between Europe and the USA and the value of that partnership”. But this must “be based on respect and trust,” a lack of which “could prejudice the necessary cooperation in the field of intelligence gathering,” they said in a statement. The United States monitored the phone conversations of 35 world leaders according to classified documents leaked by fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden, Britain’s Guardian newspaper said on Thursday.