News Releases
Pascal Lamy
No. 4/04
January 13, 2003
SPEECH BY
PASCAL LAMY, EU TRADE
COMMISSIONER
ON THE RELAUNCHING OF NEGOTIATIONS UNDER THE
DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA:
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: 13 JANUARY 2004
"Mr. President, Honourable Members,
"Thank you for inviting me back to report on the WTO negotiations—the
Doha Development Agenda after the time-out taken by the Commission for reflection
and contacts following the failure of the
Cancún conference.
"Since 24 September, when we last met, there have been developments
both in the EU and at the WTO.
"I will be addressing three aspects of the post-Cancún process. I
will be starting with our policy, as it results from
November's Commission communication and the
General Affairs Council. I will then outline the situation at the WTO since
the 15 December meeting of the General Council. I will finish by reviewing the
prospects for the Doha negotiations in 2004.
"After careful consideration of the causes of the failure of Cancún,
consultations with the European Parliament, the member states, the social partners
and civil society, the Commission took stock of the situation in mid-November's
communication on reviving the Doha Development Agenda negotiations. You have received
the communication, and its main thrust reflects the views expressed by this House
in September. The communication was also endorsed by the member states at the
General Affairs Council on 9 December.
The Union's clear position
"The Union, for which I am the negotiator, has a very clear position
in these negotiations.
"In line with the Union's stance in other areas of foreign policy,
we remain firmly attached to multilateralism in trade matters. At the same time
we pursue bilateral agreements in so far as they are consistent with the priority
we accord to multilateral progress at the WTO.
"We are ready to modify our approach on, for instance, the
Singapore issues. We are now offering much greater flexibility for WTO members.
Indeed we are ready to remove as many as four of these issues from the single
undertaking and leave other WTO members completely free to decide whether they
negotiate and sign such agreements. We have also adopted a much more flexible
approach on geographical indications and the environment in order to facilitate
continued negotiations on these issues.
"We have confirmed our readiness to negotiate seriously on agriculture,
including negotiating a list of products of interest to the developing countries
on which we would be willing to end export subsidies, an ambitious approach on
cotton and the achievement of ambitious results in the field of industrial products.
"We have made clear our readiness to negotiate and show flexibility,
provided others do the same.
"We want to improve the working of the WTO in both the short and the
long term, though not at the expense of progress on matters of substance.
The relaunch of the negotiations
"The European Union's clear stance enabled it to make a constructive
contribution to the preparations for the WTO General Council's meeting on 15 December,
at which all members expressed their political will to continue negotiations.
"We are now in far better shape than at the end of the Cancún conference.
All WTO members have publicly expressed clear and firm support for the continuation
of the negotiating process.
"That said, though the WTO members have gone a long way to getting
the negotiations back on track, we are not yet at the stage of the formal resumption
of negotiations. And the Union is almost alone in showing signs of flexibility
on matters of substance. Unless all WTO members display true flexibility, there
can be no real negotiations. It is simply not enough for one or a few members
to be flexible.
The prospects for negotiations in 2004
"What then are the prospects for the Doha Development Agenda in the
months and the year ahead?
"Relaunching discussions on matters of substance remains the main
challenge. The WTO General Council of 15 December established a framework for
this by deciding that the negotiating groups, which had been dormant since Cancún,
should resume their activities. It is now up to the members to flesh out this
structure with content on agriculture, industrial products or services.
"For our part, we will obviously be continuing our quest for alliances
with the United States, Japan and other key members of the WTO. This is why I
was pleased by the recent letter from my US counterpart, Bob Zoellick, to the
ministers of all WTO members clearly expressing the US commitment to the resumption
of the negotiating process.
"As regards development, the implementation of this aspect of the
Doha Round remains a significant challenge for us all. We will be continuing our
dialogue with the developing countries, especially with such groupings as the
G-20. I intend to pursue the direct contacts initiated with these groups in Geneva
and in Brasilia last December. The role of the G-20 developing countries is essential
to these negotiations, if we want the least developed countries to gain real access
to new markets, given that they already have practically free access to the markets
of the EU and other developed countries. In our turn, we expect the G-20 to contribute
constructively to the negotiations on the full range of issues, to take initiatives
and not to remain a purely defensive alliance on agricultural issues. Later this
week I will be going to Bangladesh, India and Indonesia to continue our efforts
to dialogue.
"On the Singapore issues, the arguments for multilateral rules remain
as valid as ever. With the other WTO members, we will be seeking more flexible
formulas in order to keep the Union's ambitions in this area within the multilateral
framework. The negotiations will therefore be initially confined to trade facilitation
and transparent public procurement, and it is possible that not all WTO members
will sign up to agreements on all issues.
"Contrary to the common misconception that 2004 will be a wasted year
owing to the elections in the United States and India, I am convinced of the possibility
of real progress if the WTO's members want it. This is why I was pleased by the
recent letter from my US counterpart, Bob Zoellick, to the ministers of all WTO
members clearly expressing the US commitment to the resumption of the negotiating
process.
"The first major milestone for the WTO is to get, by March/April,
to where we should have been by the end of the Cancún conference, i.e., to have
agreements on the modalities for agriculture, industrial products, the Singapore
issues, etc. That is the objective set by the Chair of the General Council and
backed by all WTO members on 15 December. On the basis of the European Union's
clear and flexible position, the Commission will do its utmost to that end.
"The Commission will continue to work in close cooperation with the
European Parliament and will keep you informed throughout the negotiating process.
Your support for the Union's negotiator will be vital if we are to achieve our
objectives."
