Klaus-chaired EU-South Korea attempts to reach agreement on trade deal

Representatives of the EU and South Korea discussed a trade deal worth USD 100 billion at a summit chaired by the Czech president, Václav Klaus, on Saturday. The two sides had hoped to reach agreement on lowering barriers to trade and investment at the meeting in Seoul, but the EU’s first major trade pact in Asia was stalled by disputes within the EU over how a deal would impact its auto industry. At a news conference President Klaus said an agreement would not be signed before the Czech presidency of the bloc comes to an end, in five and a half weeks’ time. He said leaders had called for a speeding up of talks to ensure a deal was reached by the end of the year.