| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.40, 27.11.03, p31 |
| Publication Date | 27/11/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
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By David Cronin Date: 27/11/03 THE European Commission has softened its controversial demand that discussions on devising global investment and competition rules take place under the Doha round of world trade talks. Efforts by the EU and Japan to include these items in the talks was a key factor in the collapse of the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Cancún, Mexico in September - despite a modification of the Commission's position at the eleventh hour. Most developing countries talking part in that conference opposed the idea of opening negotiations on those topics, fearing the end result could leave them vulnerable to unscrupulous multinational firms. Yesterday (26 November), the EU executive proposed to water down its pre-Cancún stance considerably. It adopted a "strategy paper" as part of its contributions to the WTO's work on having the stalled Doha trade round relaunched on 15 December. The Commission's paper advocates that flexibility should be shown on the four "Singapore issues" - drawing up global rules on competition, investment, conditions of cross-border trade and transparency in public procurement. Rather than dealing with these issues in the context of the Doha round - launched in the Qatari capital in 2001 - the Commission now advocates that some or all of them could be handled on a "plurilateral" basis. That would leave it at the discretion of each of the 148 countries in the WTO to decide if they wish to participate in negotiations on the four topics. Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said he remained committed to having rules drawn up on the Singapore issues but recognized that developing countries are reluctant to do so. A "level of critical mass" is needed to launch negotiations on them as part of the Doha round. "And unless we get that critical mass, there is not much point in going down that route," he remarked. The Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations in Europe (UNICE) gave a guarded welcome to the strategy paper. The body's trade advisor Adrian van den Hoven said it is supportive of talks on the Singapore issues and is worried that major economies like India and China will decide not to participate in them. "But the political reality is that we want to see the Doha development agenda going again as soon as possible," he added. "If that means leaving competition and investment aside, then that's what will have to be done." Yet anti-poverty campaigners lambasted Lamy for not abandoning the idea that talks should be held on the Singapore issues. "The Commission has not learned the lessons of what went wrong at Cancún," said Oxfam's EU spokeswoman Jo Leadbeater. "It is still rocking the boat with its ridiculous obsession with the Singapore issues, while underestimating the strength of opposition to them." Erik Wesselius, a policy analyst with anti-globalization group Corporate Europe Observatory, agreed: "We think it would be better if the EU really takes a step back and says now is not a good moment to negotiate on any of the four Singapore issues." EU foreign ministers are due to discuss the Commission's strategy paper at their 8-9 December meeting in Brussels. January 2005 is the official deadline for concluding the Doha round. However, many pundits have predicted that the goal may prove elusive - particularly because the US is unlikely to make major concessions on such sensitive areas as agricultural subsidies before the November 2004 presidential election. European Commission issues 'Strategy paper' as its contribution to the WTO's work on having the stalled Doha trade round relaunched on the 15 December 2003. |
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| Subject Categories | Trade |
