Brussels, 17/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Convinced that free trade is an instrument for getting out of the crisis, Europe is multiplying its draft bilateral agreements and remains committed to a multilateral agreement.
Opening the discussions on the latest assessment of the EU's trade policy by the WTO at the WTO's headquarters in Geneva on 16 July, the EU ambassador, Angelos Pangratis, highlighted the European bloc's efforts to resist protectionism, “despite the serious economic difficulties it has faced over the last years”. “This is a very positive sign and the result of the EU's determination to remain an open economy and use trade to overcome the economic crisis”, Pangratis stated.
The EU remains the main trading bloc in the world and the largest trading partner for 80 of the WTO members. It is also the biggest donor of aid and the main investor worldwide, as well as the most important recipient of foreign direct investment, Pangratis noted.
The European ambassador also re-asserted the EU's commitment to a multilateral trading system and its determination to make the ninth WTO ministerial conference in Bali a success, reiterating that the conference should enable partial agreements of the Doha round to be concluded on trade facilitation, agriculture and issues related to development.
Pangratis called on the EU's partners at the WTO not to interpret the increasing numbers of its draft bilateral agreements “as a sign of disengagement from the multilateral trading system”. “On the contrary, the EU is committed to ensuring that such agreements will prepare the ground for the next level of multilateral liberalisation and rulemaking” at global level, he assured.
Internally, the EU and its member states have continued, since 2011, to take the necessary measures to put the EU economy back on track, in particular by tackling the necessary regulatory reforms in the financial sector, in order to complete and bring the internal market to a successful conclusion, Pangratis added.
Lastly, with regard to agriculture, which is a highly sensitive issue at the WTO, the EU committed - after the efforts made over the last decade - to a new reform of its agricultural sector in 2014.
In its assessment of EU trade policy published on 16 July (see EUROPE 10889), the WTO welcomes the fact that few changes have been made to the EU's trade policy since 2011 by a Europe that is focused on resolving its financial crises. (EH/transl.fl)