Brussels, 18/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Brussels on Friday 18 July at an extraordinary General Affairs/External Relations Council, in preparation for the WTO ministerial meeting to begin in Geneva on 21 July, EU trade ministers confirmed their wish to reach an “ambitious and balanced” agreement to conclude the Doha Round. They nonetheless stressed the need for a new balance to reached in talks for compensating EU trade concessions by improved access to industrial product markets (NAMA) in emerging countries and by advantages due to the opening up of the services market.
Summarising the discussions after the sitting, French Minister Anne-Marie Idrac set out the three principles with which she plans to ensure compliance in her capacity as president-in-office of the Council. These principles are: 1) Commission transparency toward the Council based on the constant provision of information that is as precise as possible on the development of compromise texts and their economic consequences; 2) respect of the mandate granted by the Council to the Commission, reiterated in the conclusions of the General Affairs Council of 10 March 2008, which reaffirm the Council's support for the Commission for improved compromise texts, the need for additional access to the markets of emerging countries, and the objective of reaching a balanced agreement, which is not only ambitious and comprehensive with regard to agriculture and on NAMA but also on the other chapters of Doha talks, services, rules and geographic indications; and 3) the cohesion and unity of the EU. “Far from making them weaker, the political debates give our negotiators considerable political power”, Ms Idrac said on this subject. After coming under fire from Nicolas Sarkozy at the beginning of July, European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson had warned of the risk that the French President's criticism could weaken his position as negotiator (EUROPE 9694 and 9698).
During the debates, 26 member states expressed their views, placing emphasis on stakes of various kinds: - defence of the EU's interests, defence of national interests, development, and the vitality of the world economy. They nonetheless agreed on a matter common to them all: that of finding a new balance in the concessions already made by the EU. “When one speaks of concessions, it is the general feeling that the EU has exhausted its agricultural margins of manoeuvre and that one cannot go further on this chapter. When one speaks rebalancing, we shall not be content with cosmetic touches: it must bring strengthened access to the industrial products markets in emerging countries, on services and geographic indications”, Ms Idrac explained. The services chapter will be dealt with within the framework of a “sign-posting” conference.
On the subject of NAMA, the delegations raised major concerns regarding the tariff reduction coefficients of the “Swiss formula” applicable to developed countries and developing countries, flexibilities for emerging countries, and the “anti-concentration” clause, which aims to prevent a country from excluding from the scope of liberalisation a large concentration of products belonging to the same category, such as for vehicles and clothing. Followed by the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Germany demanded that the “anti-concentration” clause be effective for EU industries, especially the motor industry.
On agriculture, the Commission assured the Council that rewriting the chapter on internal subsidies of the “green box” should not handicap future developments for CAP. Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel spoke of “uncertainties” concerning the US commitment on domestic “orange box” subsidies (which engender the greatest distortion). Community sources say that Mr Mandelson nonetheless gave his assurance that the United States would be willing to make major concessions. On the chapter of access to the agricultural market, Italy and Portugal call for Mediterranean products (citrus fruit, rice, etc.) to be excluded from the list of tropical products. On the banana issue (EUROPE 9706), Spain deplored the fact that the time for implementation was too short, and Portugal questioned the principle of autonomous agreement. Mr Mandelson nonetheless warned that it would not be easy to find an alternative to the proposal of WTO Director General Pascal Lamy: - rejecting an autonomous agreement for bananas would entail larger tariff reductions than in the context of negotiations on tropical products. Furthermore, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal insisted on the chapter of geographical indications. Finally, Spain raised concerns about the dossier on fishing subsidies. It should be noted that Ireland was highly critical of Commissioner Mandelson and of the WTO compromise texts.
EU trade ministers will meet every day in Geneva. (E.H./transl.jl)