Brussels, 04/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - On the sidelines of a visit to the German government in Berlin on Thursday 3 April, Peter Mandelson said that he was “more optimistic than previously” about the prospects of the 151 member countries of the WTO reaching a compromise on the liberalisation of world trade, at the meeting which is very likely to be held in Geneva this May. The European commissioner for trade calls on all parties not to delay this meeting so that an agreement can be concluded before the change of administration in the United States. “Right now, playing with time is like playing with fire”, he stressed. On the sidelines of the meeting of trade ministers of the African Union in Addis Ababa, the director-general of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, confirmed that a ministerial meeting would be held in Geneva before the end of May. Various sources close to the dossier spoke to EUROPE to confirm the likelihood that a ministerial meeting will be held in the WTO headquarters in the week of 12 or 19 May. (E.H.)