France says favors delay to EU-US trade talks

France said on Wednesday free-trade talks between the European Union and the United States should be delayed by two weeks given tensions over a report that Washington is spying on the 28-nation bloc.

"It's not a question of halting the negotiations," French government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said of the talks, due to start on Monday in Washington. "On the other hand, it would seem wise to us to suspend them for a couple of weeks to avoid any controversy and have the time to obtain the information we've asked for." (Reuters)