Brussels, 10/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - A hair's breadth away from the end-of-year deadline agreed in Doha, World Trade Organisation (WTO) member countries are finding it hard to find a consensus on the terms for facilitated access to medicines and the special and differential treatment promised to developing countries when the so-called "development" round was first launched. Multilateral talks reactivated at a sustained rate since the mini-ministerial in Sydney were suspended indefinitely early this week, while a vital session of the General Council opened. The latter is the decision-making body called upon to endorse possible compromise texts when required. The list of outstanding issues is "impressive", it was stressed on Tuesday in Geneva, where there was talk of "the possibility, rather than hope, of making a breakthrough" in time.
During discussions on access to medicines, brandished as a new test to prove the organisation's credibility, "nearly all the points (on the table) are problematical", the same source said. However, there is apparently beginning to be an atmosphere of "mutual listening" and "negotiation", and "that in itself is positive". On the whole, producer countries such as the United States and Switzerland tend to obtain stricter rules, obtaining clear information and a certain amount of predictability from patent holders. Developing countries, on the other hand, call for as much latitude as possible with as little constraint as possible to ensure prompt and rapid response to health crises. Some guidelines are taking shape, mainly on: - diseases covered by the compulsory licensing system (AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and, no doubt, other diseases or epidemics likely to cause loss of life); - products, which will no doubt include medicines, screening tests and vaccinations; - eligible importer countries, namely the least advanced, in the initial stage; - and exporter countries (the "easiest question to resolve"). But, as it is recalled in Geneva, the difficulty lies in the detail. Divergence is all the greater in other issues, such as the arrangements for notification and safeguard, and prevention of the trafficking of medicines manufactured under compulsory licensing. Negotiations are to resume "at any moment", but it is not to be ruled out that the WTO will be compelled to bring in extensions in January, the same source states.