Brussels, 01/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - The 144 countries members of the World Trade Organisation managed to agree, Friday evening, in the controversy surrounding the choice of who is best qualified to orchestrate negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda. They finally opted for the institution's Director General Mike Moore, who has been given this responsibility ex officio until the arrival of his successor, Thailand's Supachai Panitchpakdi, on 1 September. The day after the resumption of its inaugural session, that was suspended earlier this week for lack of a consensus, the committee responsible for piloting the process (CNC) also agreed on the structure and articulation of the work. But for now, there is still no agreement on the chairs of the different groups.
The Directorate General of the WTO will exercise the presidency of the CNC until the end of negotiations, the 2004 deadline. This practice, well-tried according to some - the EU and its allies that highlighted their concern for efficiency and neutrality - was initially rebuffed by the more or less "small" group of developing countries, including China, fearing seeing all member countries losing control of the process to the benefit of a powerful minority. Their fears, it would seem, were allayed by a compromise that the Ambassador for Hong Kong, Stuart Harbison put forward at the end of a series of consultations with the protagonists in the controversy. The text endorsed by the 144 offers additional assurances of transparency and special and differentiated treatment for the developing countries, which have become "precise, effective and operational". And it provides for the creation of two new groups: - market access for non-agricultural products, and WTO rules (anti-dumping, subsidies, regional agreements on trade); - pursuing negotiations that have been ongoing since 200 on agriculture and services in the existing framework in special sessions (Committee for one, Council for the second) and to conduct others in the framework of existing bodies: geographic indications and multilateral registration systems exclusively for wine and spirits) in the Trips Council, whereas all the other problems relating to intellectual property (including access to medicines) will be dealt with in regular sessions, but as a priority: questions linked to the Dispute Settlement Body by ORD in special sessions, the results not being part of the final package and expected for 2003; - environment by the committee on Trade and the Environment (in special sessions) and most of the "implementation" package by different "competent bodies".