The government in France has withdrawn its objections to holdings talks for an ambitious free-trade agreement between the US and the EU.

France came on board after the European ministers decided to exclude cultural industries from upcoming negotiations. The European ministers reached a compromise after more than 12 hours of talks in Luxembourg allowing France to protecting their film and music sectors from US media giants. However, the ministers would be able to discuss the issue at a later stage with the consent of the all the members.

Karel De Gucht, EU trade commissioner said, "I am delighted that the council has today decided to give the European Commission `the green light' to start trade and investment negotiations with the United States. Let me be clear: this is not a carve-out. Audio-visual services are presently not in the mandate, but the mandate clearly indicates that the commission has the possibility to come back to the council with additional negotiating directives."

According to estimates, a free-trade agreement between the US and the EU would inject more than $100bn a year in to each economy and generate more than 400,000 jobs in Europe.