Brussels, 12/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - There will not be a “happy end” for the Doha Round this year. Given the lack of convergence on key issues - the special safeguard mechanism and cotton in the agricultural chapter and the sectoral agreements in the chapter on industrial products (NAMA) - WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said, on Friday 12 December, that he would not convene a meeting of trade ministers from some 30 key countries in Geneva from 17-19 December to draw up a compromise on ways to liberalise global trade. Catherine Ashton, European Trade Commissioner, immediately gave her assurance of the EU's commitment to conclude the round in 2009, saying: “We have come tantalisingly close to the finish line with an outline agreement that would have been good for everyone and a major boost for the world economy. Having come this far, we must not give up. We will be all worse off, in particular developing countries, if we fail to deliver this development oriented multilateral round, especially in this difficult moment of global slowdown. We have achieved real convergence building on the July package. We need to safeguard what has been agreed and not abandon our efforts to conclude this agreement soon. We should continue the work and engage with the new US administration in January to see how quickly a ministerial meeting can be called in 2009”. (E.H./transl.jl)