for that three-hour session where there was a direct negotiated stakeholder interaction, they were there with the members of press and the stakeholders. our feeling was that the briefing that we gave to the stakeholders on wednesday afternoon was their opportunity to pose questions to us and have an exchange, and that the opportunity for the press for us to have a briefing and have questions and answers would come at the end of the round when we had completed the round uring this hour.

>> having a specific commitment. scientific these negotiation, we are discussing very broadly for all sectors. and andrement what is being done. it is not close. it is just the reason we expect to work. and within each of the sectors, these issues are looking into. we will see how far it is possible to go under each of these issues and each of those

sectors. i think that's important to ear in mind. >> i have a question. the commission this week released a draft regulation on restricting products from cloned animals, and i'm just -- can you tell us to what extent that issue will find its way into the trade agreement, into the trade negotiations, and can you elaborate on some of the food safety issues this week? >> all the specific proposal of the commission has a note that, no, it's not an usual we are discussing during these negotiations. of course we are always ready to listen to questions, comments about our initiative.

on food safety, i think that there were good discussions between the two teams. we are looking into what will be the elements of an ambitious chapter. it's our objective they would wish to achieve within this chapter. how to facilitate and to solve a specific issue all in full respect of each side's legislation. i think we're good on these topics, but as i said, the specific issue you refer to is not an issue that has been discussed. >> maybe to elaborate, we did undertake a high-level working group to discuss these

measures. it's mostly related to food safety. it's to explore ways in which we could explore f.p.s. plus spects for disciplined that go beyond and elaborate on the current w.g.o. irmente that food safety measures be based n science and risk assessment. what we are discussing during these rounds is the various ways that we can focus on some of these requirements. it's a mechanic nesm we can put in place to have our regulators rk together to achieve the disciplines on these food safety measures. the united states and europe have two of the best food

safety regimes in the world, and by cooperating together and agreeing on cooperative measures where we can both achieve our appropriate level of protection using appropriate science, using appropriate risk assessment, i think we can both ain on the food safety area. say the want to issue. >> and the united states and european union negotiating, negotiating treaty with china. is there a g,

statement settlement with china. >> certainly i think the we iations is one issue would certainly be discussed. i think it's a various stage of that discuss, but we certainly will be discussing also this issue with our chinese colleagues. >> for us, as i said, it's extremely important to maintain the right to regulate, but at the same time, it's a strong objective to make sure that we have in the international system strong investor protection that is do include these variety, including, as i mentioned, state to state dispute settlement, as well as the investor state dispute

settlement. >> that's it. thank you, everyone. >> thank you. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> on the next "washington journal," with reports that north korean leader kim jung you know has executed his uncle, we'll discuss the situation with scott snyder with the council on foreign relations. that's followed by a look at president obama's national security strategy and legacy with authsandor "new york

times" national security correspondent david sanger. then fundraising and spend fog the 2014 and 2016 election and it is role of outside spending groups, like super p.a.c.'s, dave levinthal is our guest. "washington journal," live every morning at 7:00 a.m. astern here on c-span. >> president obama held an end of the year press conference with reporters on friday. he addressed the healthcare law, negotiations about iran's nuclear program, and his chosen delegates to the sochi olympics. here's a quick preview. >> what was the message you were trying to send with not only your decision not to attend the sochi games, but also with the people you named to the delegation to represent the united states at those games? >> first of all, i haven't attended olympics in the past, nd i suspect that, you know, me attending an olympics,

particularly the time when you've got all the other stuff that people is talking about, will be tough, although i would love to do t. i'll be going to a lot of olympic games post-presidency. i think the delegation speaks for itself. you got outstanding americans, outstanding athletes, people who will represent us xtraordinarily well. you know, the fact that we've got folks like billie jean king or brian boitano, who themselves have been world-class athletes that everybody acknowledges for their excellence, but also for their character, who also happen to be members of the lgbt community, you should take that for what it's worth, that when it comes to the olympics and athletic performance, we don't make distinctions on the basis of sexual orientation. we judge people on how they

and m, both on the court off the court, on the field and off the field. and that's a value that i think is at the heart of not just america, but american sports. >> watch all of president obama's end of the year press conference today at 10:35 a.m. eastern here on c-span. now the senate intelligence committee hears testimony and questions about nominees for positions in the c.i.a. and state department. witnesses include caroline dianne krass, nominee for general counsel, who currently serves in the justice department, and daniel bennett smith, nominee to lead the state department's into rowe of intelligence and research this. uns about two hours. >> the committee will come to