EU Leaders Seeking Economic Corporation in G8 Summit

European leaders seeking a path to economic growth while curbing their debt will focus on the benefits of a trade agreement with the U.S. after the European Union authorized the start of talks.

As Group of Eight leaders gather for a two-day summit in Northern Ireland today, trade will be near the top of the agenda after the EU’s 27 members bowed to France’s demands on protecting its film industry to start negotiations.

“These trade deals matter, because they mean more jobs, more choice for consumers and lower prices,” U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, who will host the gathering, said today in a statement released by his office.

European nations are grappling with the three-year-old debt crisis, which has sent euro-area unemployment to a record and set back Cameron’s plan to eliminate the U.K. structural budget deficit. The European Commission estimates an agreement, which might take two years to close, would generate annual economic benefits of 119 billion euros ($159 billion) for Europe and 95 billion euros to the U.S. Cameron said benefits to the U.K. could reach 10 billion pounds ($15.7 billion).

The euro has climbed 2.6 percent against the U.S. dollar in the last three months, trading at $1.3347 as of June 14. Euro-area inflation accelerated in May, led by the Netherlands, adding to signs the currency bloc’s economy is beginning to emerge from recession that began in the fourth quarter of 2011.

EU governments last week gave the commission, the bloc’s regulatory arm, a mandate for negotiations with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The objective will be to remove tariffs, ease regulatory barriers and expand access in investment, services and public procurement.

Bloomberg

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