EU Commissioners Pascal Lamy and Franz Fischler go extra mile in attempt to reach amicable solution to swordfish dispute with Chile

On 30 November 2000, the European Union announced a last-ditch attempt to avoid taking a trade dispute with Chile over swordfish to the WTO.

In a joint letter to the Chilean Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Heraldo Muñoz, EU Commissioner for Trade, Pascal Lamy, and EU Commissioner for Fisheries, Franz Fischler, submitted a proposal which envisaged a solution based on three main elements: strong bilateral technical and scientific co-operation on conservation of fish stocks, the creation of a genuinely multilateral organisation to manage swordfish stocks in the Pacific and the granting of limited access to Chilean ports for EU vessels.

• Primary Source

ESO: Key Source: Relations between Chile and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/relations-between-chile-and-the-european-union/

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