Brussels, 18/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - The Austrian Presidency and the European Commission are opposing the idea of representatives of the European Parliament being involved in talks between EU Member States on the 133 Committee on the fringes of the important World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting at the end of the month in Geneva, explained the President of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee, Enrique Baron (PES, Spain) on Tuesday. At the end of March, Enrique Baron wrote to the Presidency of the Council and EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, to suggest that an EP delegation attended the talks in Geneva (like at the Hong Kong Summit last December). Baron told the International Trade Committee on Tuesday that the response from both had been negative. Since the Presidency of the European Parliament has given the go-ahead for such a delegation, I suggested taking the lead and designating a delegation because things may yet change. Erika Mann said the rejection of the idea was absolutely unacceptable because meetings of EP delegations with the 133 Committee regularly took place in the past at crucial meetings like the Geneva meeting. Mann said that for this reason, the EP should decide to send a delegation to Geneva off its own bat, even if the Council refuses to authorise it.