European Leaders and Barack Obama said they will press ahead with plans for the biggest trade agreement in history at the G8 summit today.

If successful, the agreement will be worth €120 billion to the European economy, €95 billion to the US and €100 billion to rest of world.

The Taoiseach helped steer the talks in his capacity of President of the European Council.

Speaking to reporters, the Taoiseach says it will be "part of a bigger picture of growth on both sides of the Atlantic; I welcome this very strongly".

"Ireland's exports to the US were €27 billion in 2011 alone, the clear indication is a win win situation."

The US-EU trade relationship is the largest in the world; it makes up nearly half of global GDP which relates to 14 million jobs.

The agreement would free up trade by decreasing barriers to investment and increase exports.

Overall, the broader EU membership was in support of the talks, despite concerns raised by France over the French film and gaming industries. The French film industry was supported by French trade Minister in demanding that government subsidies for French film remain.

The deadlock has since been broken however, with negotiations to start in Washington next month.

Those skeptical about the timing of such an agreement say that the free trade agreement is a desperate effort for the once richest economies in the world to reclaim their position as the backbone of the global economy.

Emerging economies such as the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) group as well as Asian countries are predicted to surpass North America and Europe in some of the most power-wielding areas such as GDP, population, military spending and technological investment.

President of the European Council, Herman Van Rumpuy indirectly addressed these predictions at today's press conference "What is at stake with the transatlantic free trade area is to enshrine Europe and America's role at the world's standard setters...in shaping the way we live our daily lives".

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Atlantic is not the past; it is the future", said Mr. Van Rumpuy.

President Obama said the trade partnership is a priority of his and warned that it was "important to get it right" and not "downsize ambitions" for the sake of securing a deal without substantial, long term gain.