Vol. 508 No. 5
70 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will seek a moratorium on agriculture trade negotiations until impact assessments on food security in the majority world have been carried out. [19391/99]
71 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will insist that any future agreements on agriculture prioritise the establishment of a mechanism to take account of majority world food security concerns. [19392/99]
72 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will develop a broad concept of multi functional agriculture which recognises the importance of agriculture in majority world countries for food security and employment. [19393/99]
73 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the steps, if any, he will take with his EU partners to minimise the negative effects of CAP instruments on individual developing countries and regions. [19394/99]
74 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will urge EU Agriculture Ministers to establish consultative mechanisms with farming organisations and other appropriate bodies in the majority world. [19395/99]
75 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will provide information and technical support to majority world countries. [19396/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 70 to 75, inclusive, together.
The agreement on agriculture concluded in 1994 as part of the Uruguay Round agreement under the auspices of GATT, now renamed the World Trade Organisation, commits WTO members to resume negotiations for the continuation of the trade liberalisation process in 1999. Ireland will be participating in the negotiations as a member of the EU.
The EU is currently preparing its negotiating position for the new trade round which will begin with a WTO ministerial conference in Seattle from 30 November to 3 December 1999. The negotiations on agriculture will be based on the 1994 agreement on agriculture, to which the EU is, of course, a signatory, which requires that account be taken of the experience and effects of implementing reduction commitments agreed in 1994, non-trade concerns, special and differential treatment of developing countries and the objective to create a fair and market oriented agricultural trading system.
In addition, the EU already grants preferential access to its markets for a wide range of agricultural products from developing countries mainly through its generalised scheme of preferences and the Lomé Convention and it has already proposed that WTO Ministers meeting at Seattle enter into a commitment to ensure duty-free market access no later than the end of the new round of negotiations for essentially all products exported by the least developed countries.
At its September meeting, the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers accepted the need to ensure that the concept of the multifunctional role of agriculture is acknowledged and given due recognition in the WTO negotiations.
With regard to the need to provide technical support for developing countries, I am aware that FAO is providing such support to assist these countries. In addition, the WTO organised a seminar on trade and development issues earlier this year, while more recently FAO held a similar meeting specifically on agriculture, trade and food security. These efforts are indications of a recognition in the international community of the importance of trade issues to food security, as was also underlined in the conclusions of the world food summit – WFS – in 1996. The Government fully shares that perspective and participates actively in the follow-up process to the WFS, which provides a mechanism for international consultation on food security.
While I would be open to contact from representative organisations in developing countries, consultation with their own Governments, who will participate in the WTO negotiations, would be the most appropriate action in most cases.
