Brussels, 14/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - Member States representatives met at COREPER on Friday where they decided to convene a special meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on 18 October to discuss the EU's strategy in the WTO trade negotiations (the Doha Round). The meeting will also examine the ever more alarming bird flu situation and EU aid for the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan and the Himalayas (see other articles) and the Stan Hurricane in Central America. The European Council at Hampton Court on 27 October may also be on the agenda (see EUROPE 9048).
The special 18 October meeting was demanded by France to enable ministers to look at the WTO negotiations where the French government allege that the European negotiators, Commissioners Peter Mandelson and Mariann Fischer Boel, are making unilateral concessions on farm trade beyond the 'pale' of the Council's negotiating mandate. President Chirac even sent a letter to Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday criticising Peter Mandelson's negotiating tactics and arguing that negotiations had to balance out the various issues included in the Doha Round - agriculture, industrial products, services and development. The Commission, however, feels it is acting within its mandate, explaining that al the concessions made or announced in Geneva to date have been perfectly covered by reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. The Commission also rejects the French argument that it did not consult Member States enough, saying it is prepared to brief ministers at any time. This is why the Commission welcomes the decision to hold a special Council on 18 October, said a spokesperson for Peter Mandelson on Friday, since this would make it possible to listen to all Member States and explain what the Commission is doing. The spokesperson added that the aim was to keep Member States sufficiently informed.
Peter Mandelson urges emerging Latin American economies to make concessions too
In a speech in London on 13 October, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson urged emerging Latin American economies (Argentina, Brazil and Chile) to follow in the footsteps of the EU and the United States and make big concessions on opening up their markets. 'It is fair game for some to say that Europe is not doing enough. Or that we are not matching the ambition of the Uruguay Round. Yet we are offering to eliminate, not a part, but all of our export subsidies. We are prepared to reduce our trade-distorting agricultural support by 70% provided others make similar efforts. We have offered, and will specify this shortly, to reduce our duties by at least the Uruguay Round benchmark on average, and to bring the higher duties down by more than that. And we have already made a down payment, in the form of a complete shift in our agriculture policy away from production-driven subsidies. This is unprecedented in the European Union.' Mandelson added: 'But Europe and the US cannot carry this round alone. We cannot between us deliver the balanced and ambitious approach to liberalisation of trade in industrial goods, services and agriculture that is required for success. We can make moves to offer grate prospects for agricultural trade for efficient Latin American producers only if you in turn open your markets in those areas where we seek new market access. If that does not happen in industrial goods and services, let me be crystal clear, there will be no deal on agriculture. It is simply not deliverable.' The Commissioner added: 'There are other reasons why today's liberalisation cannot be carried predominantly by the industrialised countries only. For one, our residual protection is relatively low. Global growth through trade liberalisation now depends crucially on reducing the higher barriers in the more advanced developing countries. But secondly, in the last ten years, it is this group of countries that has benefitted more than others from the open trading system. It is not unreasonable to now ask them to contribute. And this effort has to include helping others who are lower on the development ladder. For example, I am looking to many of our governments to make a special effort for the least developed countries, for example by lifting all barriers on your imports from them. … It is not a secret that some Latin American countries will be among the main beneficiaries of this Round…. Let me repeat, because the point cannot be overstated: this Round will not be concluded unless you help us too in areas where we have comparative advantages: by opening your service sectors; reducing your applied import duties, and protecting our geographical indications, to name a few.'