The talks between the 27-nation EU and Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua were suspended on Thursday after the parties failed to agree on a number of issues including imports of dairy products, EU officials said.

"Unfortunately, the trade negotiations between the EU and Central America have been put on hold since it wasn't possible to resolve a number of outstanding differences," EU trade spokesman John Clancy said in a statement.

The European Union had hoped to conclude the talks before a May 18 summit among EU and Latin American leaders in Madrid, but EU officials said it was clear that the suspension had made it almost impossible to reach an agreement before that meeting.