BERLIN — European countries agreed Wednesday that talks on a free-trade deal with the United States should start in parallel with discussions about NSA surveillance — addressing concerns raised by France.
French President Francois Hollande insisted after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders in Berlin that the trade talks can start only "at the same time, at the same date" as talks with the U.S. on concerns over its intelligence activities.
That raises questions as to whether the launch of the trade talks will go ahead as originally scheduled early next week. France had called earlier Wednesday for a two-week delay.
The head of the European Union's executive Commission, which will lead the trade talks, said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder had offered to set up "as soon as possible" U.S.-European working groups on intelligence issues.
"We are committed of course to the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership," Jose Manuel Barroso said. "But we expect that in parallel ... we analyze the oversight of intelligence activities, intelligence collection and also the question of privacy and data protection."
For the trade talks "to be a success, we need confidence among partners and confidence can become better" if Europe's concerns are addressed, Barroso told reporters.
Merkel, whose country has Europe's biggest economy, said leaders at a meeting focusing mainly on youth unemployment were "very concerned" about reports of the U.S. eavesdropping on its European allies, and said the U.S. offer to set up working groups on the issue quickly was "very important."
"Time is pressing," she said, adding that it was the "right idea" to say those groups should start work parallel to the beginning of the trade talks, whose opening will follow months of protracted and painful efforts to find a common European stance.