Member states refuse to retreat on agriculture in trade talks

A group of EU member states led by France is expected to refuse at a meeting on Monday (25 June) to cede ground on agriculture to facilitate a global trade deal.

EU trade ministers will gather for a special session to be briefed on the outcome of talks between the EU, US, Brazil and India, known as the G4, which began on Tuesday (19 June) and are expected to continue over the weekend.

Peter Mandelson, the European trade commissioner, has said that "this meeting of G4 negotiators cannot finish the Doha Round, but it will determine if Doha can be finished".

If no deal emerges from the G4 negotiations, the meeting on Monday could be scaled down with Mandelson and a number of trade ministers possibly opting not to attend, said an EU official.

But despite hopes in the Commission and some member states that a new French administration might shift its hardline position, Paris is expected to reject any deal which would involve giving more away on agriculture than was included in a mandate given to the Commission in October 2005. French European Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet has said that the EU "has made the maximum concessions". "It’s now time for our partners in America and Brazil to move," he added.

The French position, which is supported by Ireland and Poland, was complicated by changes to the agriculture ministry this week following the second round of legislative elections. Christine Lagarde, who had been appointed agriculture minister, will now be replaced by Michel Barnier, former foreign minister and European commissioner. But France is expected to maintain its stance on the Commission’s mandate. "There is no sign that [President Nicolas] Sarkozy is weakening on this," said an EU diplomat.

A group of EU member states led by France is expected to refuse at a meeting on Monday (25 June) to cede ground on agriculture to facilitate a global trade deal.