BRUSSELS, Feb 4 (Reuters) – The European Union dropped its
ban on some U.S. meat imports on Monday in a gesture aimed at
starting talks on a free-trade pact that would encompass about
half the world’s economic output.

Brussels and Washington want to deepen a relationship that
accounts for a third of global trade, and ending the EU import
ban on live pigs and beef washed in lactic acid is meant to show
the Europeans are serious about a deal.

BRUSSELS, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Euro zone inflation fell more
than expected in January in a sign that companies were cutting
prices to entice shoppers at a time when joblessness remained at
a record level at the end of 2012.

The rate of consumer price inflation in the 17 countries
using the euro fell to 2 percent in January compared to a year
ago, the EU’s statistics office Eurostat said on Friday.

BRUSSELS, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Residential property prices in
Ireland have tumbled by 50 percent since their peak in late
2007, while Spain’s real estate values have fallen by almost a
third, the EU’s statistics office Eurostat said on Thursday.

The data, which has been released by Eurostat for the first
time, shows the extent of the property crash that followed the
global financial crisis from 2008 and propelled the euro zone
into its own debt crisis that nearly broke up the currency area.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Five years ago during the closing speeches of a summit in Chile, Spain’s king told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to “shut up” in an exchange that epitomized the fruitless meetings between Europe and Latin America at the time.

Dominated by leftist rhetoric and instability in the Andes, the summits were sideshows to the rapid economic growth in Europe that followed the introduction of the euro a decade ago, and the concerns of Madrid and Brussels lay elsewhere.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – The United States and the European Union are wrapping up final preparations for talks on a free-trade agreement that would encompass half the world’s economic output, Europe’s trade chief said on Saturday, while warning of “difficult negotiations.”

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht will travel to Washington on February 5 to put the finishing touches on a joint EU-U.S. report. He gave his clearest signal yet that Brussels and Washington are ready to embark on the accord.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – EU leaders won a promise from Argentina and Brazil on Saturday to revive stalled talks on a free-trade deal that would be a major prize for Europe as it emerges from crisis, but disputes over key issues mean a breakthrough appears distant.

At a summit in Santiago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel led the Europeans in a new push in the negotiations with the South American trade bloc Mercosur that is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela and Uruguay.

SANTIAGO, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Argentina and Brazil need to
open up to European goods and push ahead with the long-stalled
Mercosur free-trade talks, the European Union’s trade chief said
on Saturday before EU and Latin American leaders meet to try to
break the deadlock.

A free-trade deal with the South American trade bloc
Mercosur, made up of Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay and
Paraguay, would be a major prize for Europe as it tries to
emerge from three years of economic crisis.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Spain told Latin America on Friday to respect its investments after Argentina and Bolivia nationalized three companies last year, but it trod carefully before a summit where the EU will seek to boost trade with the region.

Europe needs Latin America more than ever to help it recover from a deep banking and debt crisis that has driven many of its economies, including Spain, into recession.

SANTIAGO, Jan 25 (Reuters) – EU and Latin American leaders
at a summit this weekend will commit to avoiding protectionist
policies and ensure a better environment for business, according
to a draft of the summit’s final statement, signalling
potentially warmer trade ties.

EU leaders are taking their hunt for economic growth to
Santiago, Chile as the bloc tries to emerge from three years of
crisis, but the biggest prize of a free-trade deal with Brazil
and Argentina remains distant.

BRUSSELS/SANTIAGO, Jan 25 (Reuters)F – EU leaders take their
hunt for economic growth to Latin America this weekend as the
bloc tries to emerge from three years of crisis, but a
long-stalled free-trade deal with Brazil and Argentina remains
distant.

Uncertainty over the health of Venezuela’s cancer-stricken
president, Hugo Chavez, will hang over the two-day summit in
Chile, which is meant to focus on deepening Europe’s trade links
with a region that has shown resilience to the global slowdown.