Brussels, 29/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - As we anticipated (see yesterday's EUROPE, pages 6 and 7), the European Commission adopted a proposal on Wednesday to protect the current Generalised System of Preferences for one year (reduction in customs duties), for developing countries. Aside from this extension, which focuses on the period between 1 January and 31 December 2005, the proposal provides that developing countries accounting for less than 1% of GSP imports will not be "graduated". "By restricting the graduation mechanism to the larger beneficiaries (of the system), we are going to help more smaller countries use trade to integrate into the global economy, and help traders to plan with more certainty", said the European Commissioner for Trade, Pascal Lamy. The proposal also recommends a reinforcement of the link established by the EU between the granting of preferential tariffs and the respect for ILO social standards.