Removing illusory objectives. EU trade policy is experiencing a mixture of new ambitions and dynamism. This is mainly due to the new powers granted to the European Parliament and the action taken by the European commissioner for trade, Karel De Gucht. The commissioner is proactive and he knows what he wants. Thanks to him, ambitious projects are being discussed with several non-EU countries and old projects are being relaunched. Notwithstanding these positive developments, it is also necessary to clear away any illusory objectives that remain due to intellectual laziness and which have no chance of really being put into practice. I'm aware of at least three of them:
a) The conclusion of the mythical Doha Round at the WTO, whose imminent conclusion has been periodically announced for a number of years now in a falsely encouraging tone: just a bit more effort and we'll all get there! The new deadlines are very tight. Participants are called on to demonstrate flexibility before Easter; new compromise drafts have to be ready by 22 April and the overall compromise by July. The agriculture issue is in fact totally blocked and the mediator for the sector has pointed out that there has been absolutely no progress obtained since 2008. In the field of industrial goods, an area that is considered to be the most simple, the head mediator has called for flexibility, wisdom and creativity (EUROPE 10345). Either we are satisfied with what has already been accomplished or the Doha Round will never be concluded;
b) The EU-Mercosur free trade agreement is relaunched every three or four years but actually provides a façade concealing a number of serious projects, such as negotiations between the EU and Brazil or the EU and Argentina. As a trade bloc, Mercosur is non-existent;
c) The Union for the Mediterranean. France appears to be guarding this project with its life, although every Mediterranean third country has a different point of view on its current and future relations with the EU, and each country is pursuing objectives that are very often opposed to those of its neighbours. The Euro Mediterranean free-trade zone is more absurd than ever because it presupposes that there is free movement of goods between southern non-EU Mediterranean countries and even between countries neighbouring the Adriatic Sea. Everything is possible in this region, except what corresponds to the term “Union” or a comprehensive free trade zone. A superfluous bureaucracy is all that remains of the initial project, as well as the rather unrealistic hope that common initiatives in the ecological and maritime fields will be possible. Certain Arab countries would be wiser to tackle the question of water management (two thirds of their supplies come from outside their countries and water use is bordering on natural maximum limitations), than allow their youth, which they will need in the future, to leave for Europe.
De Gucht dynamism and new visibility. Having cleared away any illusory objectives, we can now move on to the serious initiatives and dynamism of the European commissioner for trade. Our publication regularly reports on Mr De Gucht's visits, his initiatives and accomplishments and there is absolutely no point in providing a list of all these in this column. The visibility of EU trade policy has experienced an important turning point due to the new powers of the European Parliament: the action of the EU has become transparent and even though there are still a number of institutional divergences (MEPs want to know everything and the Commission and Council consider that in negotiations intentions cannot be entirely unveiled in advance). Public debates are also an obvious indication of the progress made.
The demand for reciprocity. Mr De Gucht has on a number of occasions explained the principles underpinning the line he takes. He is very firm on one point: reciprocity. The EU's strategic partnerships must function on the basis of mutual interests and advantages. Concessions granted in the hope of obtaining something in return if all works out well some day in the distant future, are over. Reciprocity must be the basis of all negotiations, including the aspects Europe considers as being as important as the free movement of goods: services, public procurement (the EU has opened up 80% of its markets, whilst several third countries have only opened up by 20%) and investment, not forgetting the fight against counterfeiting and fair access to raw materials, including the well-known “rare earths” (a complex affair in which China is less at fault than is sometimes assumed). The European commissioner has a very broad idea of what the trade remit should cover and he has also raised with his counterparts the issues of intellectual property, technology transfers, respect for the climate and other ecological considerations.
In this context, the most important and largely encouraging developments involve China. Next week, this column will return to the gradual changes in the EU's relationship with this economic and global trade colossus. (F.R./transl.fl)