Strasbourg, 24/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption of the report by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN, Italy) by 495 votes to 15 and 53 abstentions, in Strasbourg on Thursday 24 April, the European Parliament submitted its recommendations aimed at increasing the WTO's democratic legitimacy and effectiveness with a view to possible reform. Although there was reflection on the future of the WTO in 2004 conducted by the former director general, Peter Sutherland, recommendations made at that time have not been followed up. The EP therefore plans to reactivate the debate.
Reiterating its call to all WTO members to show proof of flexibility to bring the Doha Round out of deadlock, the EP stressed that “it is now more necessary than ever to resume the debate on the decision-making process, mandate, functioning and future of the WTO with a view to the possible reform of this organisation”. It therefore calls on the Commission to present, as soon as possible, a strong initiative in Geneva with a view to relaunching this debate, and to make contact informally with other WTO members, and to report to the director general of the WTO by the end of 2008.
The EP considers it necessary to examine the question of the role of the WTO secretariat and of its director general and to strengthen its financial and human resources and its means of technical assistance. Pointing out that the WTO is the only global organisation with rule-setting functions that is not part of the family of UN organisations, and as a result WTO rule-setting restricts itself to the remit of simple trade policy, the EP invites the Commission to put this “structural dilemma high on the agenda of WTO reform”.
The EP takes the view that reform should focus first and foremost on the “very aims of the multilateral trade system”, in a concern for consistency with other international organisations. Thus, the most ambitious challenge for the WTO should be to ensure that trade rules fully respect human rights law and social and environmental standards. The EP also calls on those participating in the debate to question the limits of the approach whereby trade talks are held in long-term “rounds” involving all WTO members in discussions on a wide range of subjects on the basis of a “single undertaking”. It considers, moreover, that the institutional structure of the WTO could be improved by better distinguishing the activities relating to the negotiation of relating to the negotiation of new rules and commitments from those relating to the implementation of existing agreements. The EP suggests that the relevance and applicability of the multilateral trade rules in force should be subject to regular revision with a view to their possible adaptation. Noting the tendency of WTO members to prefer more informal methods of coordination and decision-making, it calls for a re-definition of the role and format of ministerial conferences. In order to enhance the democratic legitimacy and transparency of WTO negotiations, it stresses the importance of the work done by the parliamentary conference on the WTO, and stresses the need to create a WTO parliamentary assembly with consultative powers.
The EP also calls for the introduction of a more democratic system of decision-making at the WTO that takes into account the views of the entire membership, which comprises countries at varying levels of development. It considers, however, that it is neither “realistic nor desirable” to call into question the principle of consensus in the WTO decision-making process which guarantees, unlike majority (or weighted) voting, the equality of all members. The EP also invites WTO members to reflect on the possibility of better managing the establishment and functioning of informal groups within the WTO, involving a varying number of WTO members which unite around certain common, sectoral or regional interests. It advocates greater transparency and recommends that, under the dispute settlement procedure, the substantive meetings with the parties, special groups and the appeal body should in future be held in public.
The EP also underlines the importance of strengthening the active participation of developing countries so that they feel they are fully represented in the negotiating process and are able to identify, express and defend their own trade interests. Also, developed and developing countries should be proportionately represented within the WTO secretariat. Finally, the EP considers the recasting of special and differential treatment is critical for the relevance of the WTO to include a new differentiation between the developing countries in the WTO. (E.H.)