EU, US resume trade talks despite scandal

The European Union and the United States have resumed trade negotiations despite recent revelations that Washington has been involved in spying activities against European allies.

Brussels and Washington engaged in the second round of negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on Monday despite massive cyber espionage activities against EU citizens and governments by the US National Security Agency (NSA).

The talks, which were scheduled to start earlier in October, had to be postponed due to the US government shutdown.

The NSA spying scandal has led some EU quarters to demand a halt on the free-trade negotiations until Washington provides answers over its secret operations.

“There may be issues of trust,” an EU official close to the talks said, adding that the EU would not compromise its standards as far as personal data protection is concerned.

“The transfer of data… is a key component of a modern economy,” and it has to be “in compliance with EU legislation on data privacy,” the EU official said.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of State John Kerry urged European leaders not to allow the spying row to disrupt the TTIP talks, which would create the world’s largest Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

A Free Trade Agreement, if made, would add some 119 billion euros every year to the EU economy, and 95 billion euros to the US economy.

A third round of trade discussions between the EU and the US is scheduled for December 16-20 in Washington.