Brussels, 06/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - While bilateral meetings between G-4 (European Union, United States, Brazil and India) negotiators and WTO Director General Pascal Lamy were continuing in Geneva on Tuesday, after several days of meetings (in London at the end of last week then at WTO headquarters in Switzerland), French Trade Minister Christine Lagarde has once more called for concessions “from the other side of the table”, that is, from the Americans and the G-20 group of emerging countries. “We really have the feeling that it is the European side who take action all the time,” she said while in Sydney, where she met her Australian counterpart Warren Truss. Ms Lagarde highlighted the efforts made by Europe with the CAP reform of 2003 and the draft reform of export supporting 2005. She also pointed out that she was in favour of having the deadline for conclusion of negotiations extended to 2009, in order to allow the overall parameters which have governed negotiations since 2004 - environment, the role of the emerging countries and the end use of major agricultural production - to be reviewed. “My personal view is that, unless we achieve a suitable solution very quickly, it would probably be useful to re-examine the parameters of the negotiations, perhaps including all or some of the elements which were dropped in 2004,” she said, adding, “Why not try to get a good agreement with a wider field of application, even if it means that only comes in 2009, rather than seal a deal hastily with outdated parameters”.
Elsewhere, as we reported yesterday (EUROPE 9379), the talks between the G-4 negotiators, who are trying to find a compromise on modalities in agriculture and on manufactured goods, is creating tension within the EU, awakening “agricultural” member states' fears. In saying he was “deeply shocked by some of the attitudes” adopted by the main European negotiator Peter Mandelson in the negotiations, French President Jacques Chirac was, on Saturday, openly critical of the negotiating tactics of the trade commissioner, whom he reproached for being prepared to sacrifice the CAP in order to get an agreement at any price. On Monday, his Agriculture Minister Dolminique Bussereau maintained the same tack, calling on Mr Mandelson to “stay very firm”. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said: “Our agriculture is not there to be the variable in (Doha) negotiations”. When she met the French president on Saturday, the Irish agriculture minister Mary Coughlan showed the same firmness of intention. “There is no evidence that there has been any concession by the negotiating partners to justify further concession by the EU in agriculture. The EU should not make further concessions on agriculture beyond its offer in October 2005 and should not engage in discussions at this stage which suggest the EU is prepared to consider such concessions,” she said. (eh)