14 EU culture ministers seek exemptions from a US trade deal

(PARIS) - European culture ministers from Germany, France and 12 other member nations have called for the audiovisual sector to be exempted from negotiations for an EU-US free trade deal.

The French initiative emerged on Tuesday, the day after British Prime Minister David Cameron, on a visit to Washington, said that all subjects and products should be up for discussion in the coming negotiations on the proposed free trade area.

Speaking at the White House after talks with US President Barack Obama, Cameron said on Monday there is a "real chance" that the negotiations could be launched in earnest by next month's Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland.

However, he added that such talks on the ambitious Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership have to cover all subjects.

"To realize the huge benefits this deal could bring would take ambition and political will. That means everything on the table, even the difficult issues and no exceptions," he said.

The culture ministers from Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain begged to differ.

In their jointly signed letter they called for maintaining the European Union position "which has always excluded audiovisual services, in the World Trade Organisation as well as bilateral talks, from any agreements on trade liberalisation."

Otherwise, they argued, it could affect European nations' ability to set their own rules in the light of new technological and economic developments.

French Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti is preparing to champion the position at Friday's meeting with his counterparts from throughout the 27-nation European Union, where the question of the EU-US free trade talks will be raised.

Cameron said Monday that talks on the proposed US-EU free trade area could be launched by next month's Group of Eight meeting in Northern Ireland.

"President Obama and I have both championed a free trade deal between the European Union and the United States," Cameron told reporters at the White House after talks with US President Barack Obama.

In Washington Cameron said that there was "a real chance" that negotiations for the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership could be launched by the June 17-18 G8 meeting.

"So the next five weeks are crucial."

The two sides need to seize opportunities together "to secure a sustainable, economic recovery", he said.

"To realize the huge benefits this deal could bring would take ambition and political will. That means everything on the table, even the difficult issues and no exceptions."

He said such a deal could be worth up to $10 billion pounds ($155 billion) to the British economy annually.

Last month European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said that policies that help protect European culture and media from the Hollywood juggernaut would not be part of the talks.

"Europe will not put its cultural exception at risk through trade negotiations," De Gucht said.

The United States and EU are also already sparring over the sensitive subject of genetically modified crops and the food products that include them -- which the US exports but the EU tightly restricts.