Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-24-Speech-3-126"
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"en.20011024.6.3-126"2
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".
Commissioner, Mr President, honourable MEPs, in two weeks’ time, the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation will get underway in Doha, Qatar. The European Union is making every effort to ensure that, on that occasion, a new trade round will commence on the basis of a broad and balanced agenda.
In this connection, the conclusions reached by the General Affairs Council on 26 October 1999 will remain a point of reference. The General Affairs Council of 8 October has underlined the importance of a new trade round.
Next week’s General Affairs Council will once again examine the state of affairs. It is indeed important for a strong and united Union to leave for Doha.
You all know, of course, that it is the Commission that negotiates in matters of trade on behalf of the European Union – as is the case here – and that Commissioner Lamy, who will be taking the floor after me, plays an absolutely crucial and, in any case, very valued role in this.
For your information, I should like to add that the topic of the preparation of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation has also been discussed during the Social Affairs Council, the Agriculture Council, and, if I am not mistaken, this will also be done at the Environment Council, with a view to harmonising the positions, or at least, to being informed of the different sensitive issues.
A new round of broad-based negotiations must enable progress to be made in the further liberation and regulation of world trade, which is vital for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, the Conference will be taking place against a backdrop of a slowing down world economy, a situation which has been exacerbated by the tragic events of 11 September which are having a negative impact on economic growth in both the industrial and developing countries.
An agreement on the start of a new round will thus give the world economy a powerful and positive signal. Even during the most recent informal Council in Ghent, the EU Heads of State and Government and the President of the Commission urged, and I quote: “to work actively towards launching of the WTO negotiations. The current economic uncertainty means that trade liberalisation founded on a rules-based multilateral system and associated with a real development dimension is more important than ever, economically and politically” – end of quote."@en1
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