Press Release: ‘WTO agriculture talks must reflect public demands on environment and rural development’, says Fischler

On 28.9.00, the EU and over twenty other WTO Members tabled six papers in Geneva aimed at bringing key public concerns, including the environment and rural development, into the heart of the ongoing agricultural negotiations. The papers, which cover rural development, food security, environmental concerns, and the specific needs of developing countries, were discussed at a recent international conference in Norway on 'non-trade concerns' the term used in the WTO Agriculture Agreement to describe concerns about the wider impacts stemming from the liberalisation of trade.