The European Union and the United States should do everything possible to finish negotiating their landmark free trade deal within the next year, dpa quoted EU leaders as saying Thursday. Negotiations on the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investmentc Partnership (TTIP) started in July 2013, but progress has been slower than expected. "They're running into some difficulties," Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said after meeting with EU counterparts in Brussels. Negotiators face "a tight timeline and a big challenge," he said. The 28 leaders said in a joint statement that the EU and US "should make all efforts to conclude negotiations on an ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial" free trade deal by the end of 2015. British Prime Minister David Cameron said trade deals were needed "to open up markets for our exporters and businesses." He held a separate meeting with business leaders and other European prime ministers to discuss the trade deal, which would "bring more growth and jobs," he tweeted. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stressed that the efforts to conclude TTIP will be made "without Europe abandoning a number of principles which are dear to our heart." Public services would not be affected, and water services would not be privatized, he insisted. Critics, who have complained about a lack of transparency, worry that a free trade agreement would weaken consumer protection provisions and allow corporations to block unfavourable regulation. The Europe-based Stop TTIP initiative announced this month that it had collected more than 1 million signatures against the agreement. EU and US negotiators have nevertheless committed to a "fresh start" in the talks after a change of leadership in Brussels. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for the week of February 2 in the Belgian capital. -- SPA 10:49 LOCAL TIME 07:49 GMT تغريد
