Brussels, 02/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - Although the hopes of achieving ambitious results as part of negotiations under the WTO in Hong Kong remain slim, the European Parliament, which will have a delegation in Hong Kong, stresses in a resolution, which was adopted at Thursday's plenary session, that "the success of the Doha Round is essential" to boost the multi-lateral trade system and the world economy. The EP reiterates its commitment to put development "at the heart of the Doha programme", at the service of the eradication of poverty and sharing the benefits of globalisation, and repeats the need for Hong Kong to end with well-balanced result in each of the planks of the negotiations. The EP, therefore, calls upon all parties, particularly the developed and emerging countries, "to take their responsibilities in order to bring the Round closer to a happy conclusion". On the agricultural plank, the Parliament insists, all of the developed countries must undertake, at the same time and in timely fashion, to phase out all subsidies to export, substantially to reduce internal supports with effects of distortion on trade and to guarantee a considerable improvement of access to the markets. However, the EP stresses that the specific nature of the multi-functional character of the Union's agriculture and its non-commercial concerns (food quality and safety and protection of the environment and rural regions) must also be respected in the negotiations. It also pleads in favour of the recognition of geographical indications and of sensitive products, and the search for a solution to the issue of cotton, which is a key issue for the developing countries (DCs).
On the other planks of the negotiations, the EP: - stresses the need to speed up negotiations on market access for non-agricultural products and to promote a liberalised South-South trade (the emerging countries must, in particular, open up their markets to the LDCs to compensate for the removal of preferences). On North-South trade, the EU stresses that the principle of "less than total reciprocity" in the opening up of markets must be respected in order to project the fledgeling industries of the South; feels, on the subject of services, that market access for service-providers of the Union should be facilitated, whilst keeping in place, for all members of the WTO, the option to regulate their own services sector. Furthermore, healthcare, education and audiovisuals should be excluded from the negotiations; - calls for the application of special and differentiated treatment to be an integral part of the WTO agreements, and therefore supports the negotiation of a "development package", engaging the developed countries to open up their markets without customs duty and without quotas to the LDCs (as the Union has already done with its "Everything But Arms" initiative), to bring in a "trade aid" facility to boost the capacity of the LDCs to integrate into world trade and to find a solution in the field of TRIPS, to guarantee these countries access to generic medicines. Lastly, the EP calls for multi-lateral rules on the field of anti-dumping measures to be boosted, and stresses the need for a reform of the WTO.