France Seeks Delay Of EU-US Trade Talks Over Spying

[Purveyor]

Source: France24

By News Wires (text)

France said on Wednesday free-trade talks between the European Union and the United States should be delayed by two weeks given tensions over media reports that Washington is spying on the 28-nation bloc.

The proposal for a delay was deflected by the European Commission in Brussels and by EU economic powerhouse Germany, both of which argued that the first round of negotiations should start as scheduled on Monday in Washington.

France only agreed to launching the talks after winning assurances that entertainment and other cultural sectors be excluded from negotiations on what could emerge as the world’s most ambitious free trade deal.

French President Francois Hollande said last week that if true, the spying allegations published by German magazine Der Spiegel could hinder U.S. relations with the European Union, which has demanded explanations from Washington.

Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20130703-france-suspension-us-eu-trade-talks-nsa-spying

[FirstLight]

1. bada-bing!

I am waiting for more of this to occur...happily. I think our govt *has* been "arrogant" as so many of these leaders are pointing out. Time to level the playing field.

[MjolnirTime]

2. Let it all burn! Ashes are better than what we have now. Right??

[FirstLight]

5. that's not what I said...

Leveling the Playing Field means the US no longer assumes the upper-hand in ALL things. We don't deserve to act that way or to be treated as such. It's time for the rest of the world to say it out loud "the US is a bully, and we aren't gonna take it anymore"

Let the US learn a few things from other countries for a change, it's called humility and it serves us all better.

[MjolnirTime]

6. The US is the only thing stopping this from being the People's Planet of Russo-China.

You really don't even know what you are begging for.

[FirstLight]

7. really?

oh please

this is not about US vs. THEM that is a ridiculous false-equivalency, IMO

[MjolnirTime]

8. You want the World's Cop to quit on the job and just see what happens.

You have no idea what is really going on.

But you think you do, and that's dangerous.

Just kill all our spy programs. End them.
Is that your answer?

[FirstLight]

11. if the US is the World's Cop

then we are in worse shape than I thought. I think you have an inflated sense of the power and benevolence of the US Govt.

[dipsydoodle]

3. That trade deal would require consensus of all EU states.

Its long ways off.

Whilst on the subject Monsanto can go fuck 'emselves.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

4. Good. Now if somebody will inform China and Japan, maybe they can delay the TPP (NAFTA on steroids).

[warrprayer]

9. ...

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. France wanted the EU to exclude their pet issues

They won that from the EU. Good negotiating on France's part. Needless to say, they don't give a tinker's damn about the "revelations," except insofar as they served the purpose of strengthening the French negotiating position. So, McDonald's pays a slightly higher fee to conduct business in France (to "save" the local French food industry, or some such - would that these fees actually did that!), and no EU agreement with the US can touch that, this time. Hollande's mama didn't raise no fool.