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Home > Programs > Trade and Agriculture > WTO Meeting: Doha > EU fails to convince rest of the world to accept comprehensive Round |
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WTO-Conference: EU fails to convince rest of the world to accept comprehensive RoundEU's strong-arm tactics backfire in DohaEU Greens/EFA Group At the World Trade talks in Doha, Qatar, the EU seems to have lost a considerable amount of ground in its attempt to strong-arm developing countries into supporting an ambitious new trade round, including the new issues of competition and investment. Unless Commissioner Lamy produces miracles, he will be forced to leave Doha with less than half of his ambitions fulfilled. Green MEP Caroline Lucas said: "Developing countries should be congratulated on resisting the intimidation from the EU and US, and standing firm in their opposition to new rules on investment and competition. They have also succeeded in getting a satisfactory text on intellectual property and public health, which makes it clear that they have the right to put people before patents. The immediate challenge for the poorest countries in the final negotiations today is to ensure that subsidised agricultural exports from the North are no longer permitted to flood their local food markets, undermining local farmers' livelihoods and the right to national food security. The EU and US - who have been preaching the need for a "development Round" which focuses on the priorities of poorer countries - should turn their words into action by agreeing to stop their damaging export subsidy regimes." Caroline Lucas warned that the text on the environment is so weak that the whole package runs the risk of being rejected by the European Parliament: "The truth is that the EU has not delivered enough in terms of meeting the real development needs of the South to generate enough confidence and secure enough support in the wider WTO membership for the European environment agenda." "One of the most disappointing aspects of this new text is that it is completely silent on the real action to address the fundamental issue of WTO reform. It is completely unacceptable that the Northern-dominated decision-making process will remain so open to manipulation, and that behind all the fine words, the WTO will continue to do business as usual." For more information: *************************************************** Helmut Weixler ### |
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