Brussels, 17/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - Little progress was made over the two weeks of negotiations on services at the WTO, the director of the WTO services division in Geneva, Hamid Mamdouh, told the press on Thursday. Although multilateral requests for the liberalisation of the trade in services are still under preparation (they are to be submitted by the member nations in February, the deadline for submitting offers being set for end July), “the situation is worrying”, Mr Mamdouh said before going on to explain that “delegations do not agree on a common denominator: there are very different levels of ambition”. Participation by the different countries in the negotiation on the services chapter still lack clarity as, according to the Hong Kong ministerial declaration (which provides for a second series of offers revised for end July and a proposed list of commitments for end October with a view to concluding the Round by the end of the year), nothing forces governments to present offers or to make demands. Mr Mamdouh above all stressed that transparency of the process was discussed in Geneva by delegations concerned about the approaches that their partners might adopt at bilateral level. Diplomats at WTO do not expect significant progress to be made on the services dossier before end April - a date when the 149 member nations must reach agreement on arrangements for negotiations concerning agriculture and NAMA - as even if the collective requests are presented end February or early March, it will take time to pass them on, discuss them and find an answer. In answer to questions put by EUROPE, Peter Power, Peter Mandelson's spokesman, pointed out that the Trade Commissioner, who is anxious to obtain ambitious offers on services, called on his partners at the WTO for a mid-term review on this chapter during April. Mr Mandelson gained the support of his American counterpart, Rob Portman, whom he is to meet in Washington next Tuesday and Wednesday.