The European Union (EU) took a tough line on Friday, indicating it would make no more concessions on agriculture in a crucial meeting next week to save the Doha Round of global trade talks.
We have "a common goal, which is to obtain a new balance in the concessions that the Union has already made" to the World Trade Organization (WTO), French Trade Minister Anne-Marie Idrac, whose country holds the EU rotating presidency, told reporters after chairing a meeting with her EU counterparts in Brussels.
She said the new balance must be "effective" and "not cosmetic."
EU trade ministers were meeting Friday to hammer out a common strategy before around 30 leading WTO players hold ministerial talks in Geneva next week, aiming to make a breakthrough in the long-stalled Doha Round trade talks.
The ministerial talks were billed as the last chance to strike a deal on the Doha Round before the U.S. presidential election. Any failure this time may mean another delay of several years.
Idrac suggested the EU would go to meeting room next week with no more sweet offers on agriculture since the 27-nation bloc has made enough.
"The general sentiment is that Europe has exhausted its room for maneuver in the agricultural sector and can go no further," she said.
France has led a blame game on EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, accusing him of offering too much in cutting EU farm subsidies before receiving reciprocal concessions from rapidly developing countries.
Ireland, Paris' long-time ally on agriculture, repeated the criticism Friday.
"I think they have gone way too far on agriculture," Irish Trade Minister John McGuinness said, "We are keenly interested in a deal ... however that deal has to be balanced."
He also left it as an "option" to veto any trade deal that would be unacceptable to Ireland.
"It's a fact that it is there. I think that it would be ... foolish of Mandelson to ignore the positions taken around the table this morning," McGuiness said.
Source:Xinhua
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