The World Trade Organization (WTO) remains a central element of the EU’s trade strategy in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis, Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan reminded MEPs on Thursday 28 May. The European ambition is huge and the identification of a new Director General for the Organisation could therefore be determinant in its chances of success.
In a virtual meeting with the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), Mr Hogan explained that he was seeking to build a coalition of views to guide the reform of the Organisation so that it contributes to a green and sustainable post-Covid-19 recovery.
The Commissioner envisaged a two-stage programme with, in the short term, an initiative on health and increased transparency for the notification of crisis measures and, in the long term, the multifaceted ambition in “restoring a truly rules-based multilateral trading system, updating the multilateral rulebook and ensuring that the WTO contributes to a green and sustainable recovery”.
To this end, the Commission is continuing its collaboration with international partners who share the European perspective, in particular in the framework of the ‘Ottawa Group’.
A strong personality
Mr Hogan also addressed MEPs on the issue of replacing WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, who announced last May that he would step down on 31 August 2020, 1 year before the end of his second term (see EUROPE 12487/34).
According to informal rotation rules, the current Director-General from Brazil could be replaced by a candidate from an industrialised country.
The EU could therefore propose a European candidate: a major advantage in aligning WTO reform with EU priorities, the Commissioner acknowledged.
First applications are on the horizon, including that of the dynamic Dutch Minister Sigrid Kaag. Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha Gonzalez Láya’s name is also circulating, a former European official who headed Pascal Lamy’s cabinet at the Commission while he was head of the WTO.
As Sabine Weyand, Director General for Trade Services of the European institution, summarised, the appointment process must result in a “strong personality”. “There seems to be an emerging understanding that what is needed is not a technocrat or a negotiator or a diplomat, but a ministerial level figure with political clout that can tackle the challenges”, she said in a May 28 debate.
Speeding up the appointment process
The procedure, which normally takes almost 6 months, will have to be accelerated so that a replacement can be in place by 1 September 2020. Many unknowns remain at this stage.
This procedure has three stages, confirmed the WTO spokesman at a press briefing after the WTO General Council on Friday 29 May. At this stage, only the first step is clearly defined: from 8 June and for 1 month, WTO members will be able to propose names for Mr Azevêdo’s successor. This will be followed by a campaign period, the length of which has yet to be determined, during which candidates will present their vision for the multilateral organisation to the membership. This will be followed by a period of consultations facilitated by the WTO Secretariat.
If, on the first of September, no names have been agreed, one of the Deputy Directors General of the organisation will temporarily take up the position. Only as a very last resort could a vote be considered, the spokesman stressed. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)