Barroso: free trade deal with U.S. would be a ‘game-changer’June 17, 2013 - 17:42 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The top official with the European Union's executive arm said a free trade deal with the United States would be a "game-changer" for the global economy, The Associated Press reported. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made the statement Monday, June 17 ahead of a formal launch of the trade effort at the Group of Eight Summit in Northern Ireland. Barroso said that a deal "can be a game-changer, not just for the trans-Atlantic area, the United States and Europe, but for the world." He added that the EU negotiating stance—which has left out the movie and television industry at French insistence—should not prevent a deal. The opt-out could be revised at a later date. "What is important, I insist, is the political will on both sides," Barroso said. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State to travel to Armenia Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs James C. O’Brien will travel to Yerevan on June 10-12. Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life, Strong Mind IDBank and Idram summarize the results of the May program of “The Power of One Dram”. |