Brussels, 30/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Union made one last attempt, on Wednesday, to come to a friendly settlement of the dispute with Chile over access by European fishing boats to Chilean ports. The solution already discussed by European officials during the opening of arbitration procedure in Geneva was formally proposed to the Chilean authorities (see EUROPE of 15 November, p.10). In a letter to the Chilean Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Heraldo Muñoz, Commissioners Pascal Lamy and Franz Fischler thus put forward a package mainly based on: a) the strengthening of bilateral technical and scientific cooperation concerning the conservation of fish stocks; b) the creation of a genuinely multilateral organisation to manage swordfish stocks in the Pacific and the granting of limited access to Chilean ports by EU vessels. This, said Mr Lamy, is a "sound base for reaching a compromise that satisfies both sides". He thus hoped this would "avert the need to go to a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel". The package "reflects the priority the EU attaches to environmental concerns linked to trade and ensuring our fishermen are allowed to operate according to the rules of world trade", he stressed. Mr Fischler added "we hope that our initiative can satisfy our shared concerns regarding the need to work together to conserve fishstocks".