Talks over the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – or TTIP – between Europe and the US have essentially failed, but ‘nobody is really admitting it’‘, Germany’s economy minister has said.

Sigmar Gabriel, who is Angela Merkel’s second-in-command, said hardly any progress had been made in recent years. Slamming the negotiations, the Vice-Chancellor said neither side had managed to even agree on a single common chapter.

“According to my assessment, the negotiations with the United States have de facto failed although nobody really admits to it. And that is because, having had 14 rounds of negotiations made into 27 chapters there has not been a single joint statement… We must not allow ourselves to submit ourselves to the American proposals. In Europe we have our way of living together,” Gabriel said.

The controversial free trade deal has sparked protests and drawn heavy criticism from some European leaders.

In May, French President Francois Hollande threatened to block the deal under its current guise.

The UK’s Brexit vote also appears not to have helped matters, essentially removing one of the US’ closest allies and supporters from the talks.