. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/AG/NG/W/3
4 April 2000
(00-1362)
Committee on Agriculture
Special SessionOriginal:  English
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
23-24 MARCH 2000
Statement by the European Communities
I am sure that we all regret the situation in which we find ourselves at our first meeting
without yet having chosen our permanent Chairman.  This is, no doubt, a reflection of the importance
which we all attach to the issues which confront us and the difficult negotiations which we face.
Let me say immediately that the Community takes seriously the commitments which we have
all accepted in Article 20 of the Agriculture Agr eement and that it intends to negotiate purposefully
on the basis of that Article.  But we continue to be convinced that a successful conclusion can best be
reached in the context of a comprehensive Round.
I should like first, as you have requested, to say how the Community believes we should
approach our work programme this year and then to sketch out the key features of the Community'sapproach to these negotiations.
As to our work programme, the field we have to cover is well summarized in points (a), (b),
(c) and (d) of Article 20.  Especially in relation to the first two items on this list the process of
information exchange and the various notifications which have been made under Article 18 of the
Agreement provide a kind of data base and I would hope that the Secretariat could help us by
providing some synthesis and analysis of this as a basis for our discussion at a later meeting.  In thatcontext we could also address the issue of tariff quota administration which was mentioned by the
Australian delegation.  Of course, delegations should also be able to submit papers on their experience
of implementation and on their specific concerns in relation to the well known five-point agenda
(market access;  export competition;  domestic support;  special and differential treatment for
developing countries and non-trade concerns).  Taking account of this work programme, I would
hope that we could set the date of the end of this year for the submission of proposals.
As to the number of meetings, as I understand it, the Agriculture Committee is due to meet in
June, September and November and this should be adequate.
As to the position of the Community in the forthcoming negotiations, we will, of course, have
many opportunities to make this clear as our work progresses.  In brief, however, our views on what I
call the five-point agenda are:
- First, market access.  The Community is the world's biggest importer and second
biggest exporter of agricultural products and therefore has a major, perhaps I should
say the major, interest in negotiating the lowering of trade barriers.  In this process it
will expect to obtain improved market opportunities for its exporters in balance with
increased access to our market.  And we will want to see progress on non-tariff
issues, in particular protection for consumers against misleading labelling, especiallyas regards quality products, in step with tariff reductions.G/AG/NG/W/3
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- Second, domestic support.  We have been engaged within the Community in a reform
process in which we have been moving away from a high price support system
towards a more market-orientated system with compensation to producers not linked
to current output.  This reform process requires the continuation of the concept ofBlue and Green Boxes.
- Third, export competition.  The Community is prepared to contribute to the process of
moving towards more equal terms of competition but we insist that this reform is
much broader than a simple reduction in export subsidies.  All instruments affecting
export competition should be brought fully into the negotiation and treated on an
equal basis.
- Fourth, special and differential treatment for developing countries.  It would be
presumptuous of me to make assumptions about the objectives sought by developing
countries under this heading but I would like to stress that the Community is
committed to move, in partnership with other developed countries, towards a situationwhere essentially all the products of the least-developed countries can enter our
markets free of tariff and free of quotas.
- Finally, non-trade concerns.  Our objective will be to ensure that means can be found
which will enable agriculture to continue to fulfil its multifunctional role in thecontext of a more liberalized trading environment.  We look forward to elaborating
the precise nature of this rôle, covering as it does in particular, the environment, rural
development, food safety, food security and animal welfare and the instruments
necessary for safeguarding it.
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