Brussels, 06/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - Sixty international anti-globalisation organisations from both the North and the South which closely monitor the WTO's activities, will be meeting Commissioner Pascal Lamy on 10 December in order to assess the 4the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha and hear explanations on various issues that will be on the negotiating table in 2003 or beyond, concentrating on the "Singapore issues" viz. investment, public tendering, competition and facilitating trade. A spokesperson for Oxfam-Solidarity Belgium said that all categories of developing countries were opposed to negotiations on these four areas, but the President of the Doha Summit's felt there was explicit consent for a decision in 2003 to negotiate these issues. The spokesperson added that for the EU, this interpretation was not incorporated in the Doha Declaration and therefore in no way prevented pre-negotiations from being launched. Aside from these four points, the representatives of the networks also want to hear the Commission's interpretation of agricultural, environmental and water, waste and energy privatisation measures.
The networks are meeting in Brussels from 7 to 9 December at the NGO Forum where they will make their own assessment of the Doha Summit.