MUNICH — The Chaos Computer Club, a leading hacker organization based in Germany, filed a criminal complaint against Chancellor Angela Merkel and members of her government Monday, accusing them of violating the law by helping U.S. and British intelligence agencies to spy on German citizens.

BERLIN — Leaders from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition agreed Monday on a raft of changes to social welfare programs aimed at easing costs for average Germans to bolster the government’s sagging popularity less than a year before parliamentary elections.