MNI BRIEF: Commission Says EU Differences Complicate U.S. Deal

The European Commission on Monday reiterated its determination to reach a trade agreement with the U.S. by the July 9 deadline, while noting that differences between EU leaders on the content of any deal continues to make the task more "complex".

 

The Commission said that a "technical" level team is about to fly out to Washington to continue talks. This follows a split among EU leaders at a summit in Brussels Thursday over the scope and ambition of any EU-U.S. accord. (See MNI: EU Split On Whether To Accept Flawed US Deal By Deadline)

 

Commission Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho told reporters that contacts with the U.S. remain "constructive and engaging" and "going in the right direction". 

 

Quizzed on differences between the French and German leaders at Thursday's summit as to the scope of any agreement, Pinho replied that, "we need to find a balance that all member states can live with, and that also contributes to the complexity."