Brussels, 10/11/2004 (Agence Europe) - Rumours in the French press that Pascal Lamy will apply for the post of Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) once he leaves the European Commission are "pure speculation", a Commission spokesperson said on Wednesday. "Mr Lamy has not yet come to a decision [on this], and will not do for as long as the Commission is still in place", she said. "He has not yet said what he intends to do after his mandate as Commissioner comes to an end. He will explain it once his mandate is over". Applications to take over from Thailand's Supachai Panitchpakdi will be sent in between 1 and 31 December. At this stage, there are three official candidates: Luiz Felipe Seixas Correa (Brazilian ambassador to the WTO), Carlos Perez del Castillo (Uruguayan ambassador to the WTO) and Jayen Cuttaree, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the island of Mauritius. According to the international press, there are other names making the rounds, including that of Tim Groser (New Zealand's ambassador and president of the WTO Agriculture group), Japanese ambassador Shotaro Oshima and the Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali.