Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 3 Dec 2003

Vol. 576 No. 2

Written Answers. - World Trade Negotiations.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

90 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the development which has taken place in regard to the WTO; the significance of such developments or preliminary discussions from the Irish and European viewpoint; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29301/03]

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. Walsh)

The main development in recent months was the WTO ministerial conference in Cancún in September which failed to reach agreement on the way forward in the current round of multilateral trade negotiations.

In the lead up to Cancún, the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU-US accord on agriculture had demonstrated the EU's commitment to participating constructively in the negotiations and to seeking a positive outcome. However, due to the complexity of the issues involved and the diversity of positions held, it was not possible to reach agreement.

I believe the failure at Cancún was a missed opportunity for all of the negotiating parties, but in particular for the developing countries who stand to gain real benefits from a new agreement.

The European Council in October restated the EU's commitment to the multilateral approach and to the early resumption of negotiations. It invited the Commission to reflect on the EU's strategy to explore with key WTO players the possibility of future progress. The Commission's communication entitled Reviving the DDA negotiations – the EU Perspective was published on 26 November and proposes that the EU should support the early relaunch of the negotiations and participate constructively in efforts to this end. The Commission's communication is currently under discussion in Brussels.

The WTO general council will meet on 15 December in an effort to relaunch the negotiations. I have discussed this issue with fellow EU Agriculture Ministers and Commissioners Fischler and Lamy, both at Council and in pre-presidency bilateral meetings. There is broad agreement that the EU's negotiating position on agriculture should remain unchanged.

Ireland remains committed to the multilateral framework for international trade and to a successful conclusion of a new broadly based agreement. However, any proposals which would require any further adjustments of the Common Agricultural Policy, beyond those agreed during the mid-term review, would be unacceptable.