Brussels, 11/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commissioner Pascal Lamy spoke for two hours, on Monday, with the Trade Ministers of the 77 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, gathered in Brussels for two days in view of defining their own political strategy in their field of trade, notably in view of the future trade agreements with the EU and in the framework of the multilateral system. The EU set itself as aim to enable the ACP to participate more fully in a liberalised world trade, both thanks to the Cotonou agreement and the launching of a new round of negotiations within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), underlined Mr Lamy
The Commissioner, who is preparing to propose a new formulation of the European position over this last point (see EUROPE of 6 December, insisted, before the Ministers, on "the particular attention" given by the EU "to concerns of developing countries in the framework of the new round of multilateral trade negotiations, whose agenda will cover a wide range of points of interest in order to increase the chance of achieving positive results for everyone". "Let us be perfectly clear, he said, all are not as determined as the EU to make this new round a round of development". With regards to the future economic partnership agreements, Mr Lamy felt that they will "preserve, improve and consolidate ACP access to the EU market and will also form a transparent and predicable framework, and even mobilise economic activity, attract investment, strengthen regional economic integration and progressively eliminate barriers to trade (..) which will enable the ACP countries to better take advantage of their comparative advantages and improve their competitiveness".