Strasbourg, 17/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - The outcome of the December 2005 World Trade Organisation (WTO) Summit in Hong Kong is far from a general, balanced outcome and much work remains to be done if the WTO talks are to be concluded this year, explained Enrique Baron Crespo (Spanish Socialist) in plenary on Monday evening, opening the European Parliament's debate on the outcome of the WTO Summit where, as the President of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee, he pointed out hat much remains to be done to conclude the Doha Trade Round talks in 2006. The Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, hoped there would be a genuine discussion with MEPs before the next long phases of talks begin (on which he briefed the MEPs).
Briefing the MEPs on his assessment of the Hong Kong Summit, Peter Mandelson conceded that he could not claim the conference was a success because despite modest progress, the overall level of expectations had been revised in a downwards direction, leading to disappointment. He went on to explain that the outcome was what was possible at that point in time. He said the EU was firm but reasonable and the contribution of the EU had been recognised, like its agreement to end export subsidies by 2013. The path will be difficult, said Mandelson, concerned at the danger of deadlock in the farm talks, particularly on specific farm products. The Commissioner said all the participants in the talks shared responsibility and lifting obstacles to trade was not an unfair price to pay. He said that while agriculture had to be liberalised in the future, the talks were more than that (agriculture only accounts for 5% of global trade, pointed out Peter Mandelson). Despite disagreements that may occasionally seem to divide us, said Mandelson, the EU team remains ambitious. He said the EU was not, however, prepared to pay the price if there is not progress on market access for industrial goods and services on the part of some emerging economies.
Georgios Papastamkos (EPP-ED, Greece) is preparing a report on the issue, due to be unveiled in April. He said the outcome of the Hong Kong Summit was so-so. He said a path lay open between disappointment at only ending up with general statements and pleasure at seeing the talks actually continue. All sides, he said, have to be aware that there are no alternatives guaranteeing economic integration and development, other than making a success of the Doha talks. French Socialist Harlem Desir agreed that the main merit of the Hong Kong Summit had been that the entire trade round had not been abandoned. He said the trade round's objective must remain, namely development, even if that means the EU obtains less than other countries in terms of access to market. Desir congratulated Peter Mandelson on his work a the Summit and the fact he had managed to maintain coherence among Member States over ending farm subsidies in 2013, but urged him to be flexible to avoid deadlock on services. Success on farm issues cannot hide the fact that a lot was no achieved at Hong Kong, said British ADLE MEP Sajjad Karim, like developing countries' right to defend their burgeoning industry. He said the negotiations behind closed doors were a sign of the lack of democracy at the talks. Marie-Helene Aubert (French Green) said the trade talks had ended in a hypocritical summit. She expressed concern about the talks collapsing into less transparent negotiations among restricted groups of states, describing this as a sorry occurrence for ordinary people. She said that despite apparent clashes between the EU and the United States, their policies were virtually the same and it was the developing countries that were swindled. How can people have the cheek to talk about a development round, asked Vittorio Agnoletto (GUE/NGL, Italy) when the selfishness of the Northern Hemisphere won out in Hong Kong? He said not a word had been said about the need to introduce social clauses and ensure they were respected, and the full hypocrisy of the subterfuge had been revealed.