Presidency of Barack Obama

 Primary surplus misses target by 3 billion euros as taxpayers stopped paying their dues in December

By Sotiris Nikas

The European Commission (EC) published Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiating documents on Wednesday.

The move comes after the European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly called on the EC for greater transparency on the trade talks with the US, EurActiv reports.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has urged the country's trade envoys to closely watch potential consequences of Turkey's review of its Customs Union agreement with the European Union, which has been put under scrutiny amid EU-U.S. free trade talks.

While President Barack Obama has not ruled out the possibility of reopening a U.S. Embassy in Iran, Republicans say the Senate will vote within weeks on a bill to impose more sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program.

Obama was asked in an NPR interview broadcast on Dec. 30 whether he could envision opening an embassy there during his final two years in office.

The United States said on Dec. 18 a cyber attack on Sony Pictures was a serious national security matter and the Obama administration was considering a proportional response, although the White House stopped short of blaming North Korea.
   

The US Congress passed a $1.1-trillion spending bill for fiscal year 2015 Dec. 13, capping a week of acrimonious wrangling while averting a government shutdown and sending the measure to President Barack Obama.
      

The Government approved on Friday the 2015 state budget bill and the social security budget bill.

Facing intense pressure to avoid a government shutdown, the US House of Representatives narrowly passed a $1.1 trillion federal spending bill Dec. 11, sending it to the Senate after it was ushered through barely two hours before a midnight deadline.
      

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry asked Congress on Dec. 9 for new war powers to provide the legal grounding for U.S. military operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), but faced strong criticism from Republicans for not giving authorization to fight Syrian regime troops.

President Barack Obama has nominated former senior Pentagon official Ashton Carter as US Secretary of Defense.

If confirmed by the Senate, Carter will replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who resigned in November.