European Parliament resolution on the WTO meeting in Qatar
Date: 2001-12-13
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: North-South trade, TRIPS, World Trade Organisation, liberalisation of trade, precautionary principle

C 177 E/290

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

25.7.2002

Thursday 13 December 2001

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of

8.
the Member States, the US Congress, and the US administration.

14. WTO meeting in Qatar

B5-0819/2001

European Parliament resolution on the WTO meeting in Qatar

The European Parliament,

(cid:29) having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2001, on the Fourth Ministerial Conference (1),

1. Welcomes the outcome of last month’s WTO Ministerial Conference in Qatar, which represents an
important step towards a new WTO, more responsive to the needs and interests of citizens;

2. Welcomes in particular the commitment in the Qatar declarations to redressing the imbalances
between developed and developing countries; notes with pleasure that the cohesion and assertiveness of
developing countries in Qatar and in the preceding weeks had a major impact both on the agreements
reached in Qatar and on the wider politics of the WTO, and urges the Commission to ensure that the
work programme is translated into outcomes which deliver real benefits to developing countries;

3.
Congratulates the Commission on the extent to which the agreements reached in Qatar reflected the
priorities laid down by the European Parliament, and acknowledges both the Council’s determined efforts
to support the Commission’s negotiations and the close cooperation with its delegation;

4. Welcomes the Qatar declaration on the TRIPS agreement and public health, reflecting a worldwide
recognition of the need to address appropriately urgent health needs, and the possibilities of a more flex-
ible application of intellectual property rights, and expects to see this agreement respected in practice by
all concerned; also welcomes the approval of the WTO waiver for the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement;

5. Welcomes the prospect of greater opportunities for EU producers and gains for EU consumers,
through the opening of negotiations on more open markets; notes with approval that the text on agricul-
ture recognises non-commercial aspects and therefore permits the European Union to proceed with reform
of the CAP, shifting away from trade-distorting subsidies, especially where they penalise agricultural
exports from developing countries, whilst safeguarding instruments to ensure multifunctionality, and
underlines the importance in these negotiations of special and differential treatment for developing coun-
tries, to take account of their needs, such as rural development and food security; welcomes the inclusion
in the negotiations of all forms of agricultural export support as well as the protection of geographical
indications concerning agricultural products, namely wine;

Considers that the Qatar agenda represents a significant first step towards taking proper account in
6.
the WTO of the relationship between trade and the environment, but emphasises the need for progress on
the clarification of the precautionary principle in WTO rules as an important protection for environment
and food safety standards;

7.
Notes the reaffirmation in Qatar of the Singapore Ministerial’s commitment on labour rights; believes
that further progress is essential and calls on the WTO to cooperate with the ILO’s initiative on the social
dimension of globalisation;

(1)

‘Texts Adopted’, Item 13.

25.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 177 E/291

Thursday 13 December 2001

8.
Recalls that Qatar is just the start of a long process of negotiation and review; underlines that the
final result must reflect a balance between the interests of all WTO Members; hopes therefore that signifi-
cant progress will be made on the items to be negotiated in the second stage, after the next WTO Minis-
terial;

9.
Calls again for greater openness and transparency and insists that these aspects form an important
part of negotiations on the reform of the disputes settlement procedure; considers that the next few years
are crucial for obtaining support from Member States of the EU and the WTO for a parliamentary dimen-
sion to the WTO; welcomes the agreement reached among Parliamentarians meeting in Doha on 11 Nov-
ember 2001 to set up a steering group to prepare options for the establishment of such a body, for
submission to the Parliamentary Conference during the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference; underlines its
important role as the initiator of this project;

Looks forward to continuing cooperation with the Commission, insists on continued, comprehen-
10.
sive briefings, makes clear its intention to follow closely the negotiations and reserves its right to make
recommendations;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the Director-

11.
General of the WTO.

15. Conflict Prevention

A5-0394/2001

European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication on Conflict Prevention
(COM(2001) 211 - C5-0458/2001 - 2001/2182(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:29) having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2001) 211 (cid:29) C5-0458/2001),

(cid:29) having regard to its recommendation of 10 February 1999 on the establishment of a European Civil

Peace Corps (1),

(cid:29) having regard to its resolution of 15 June 2000 on the establishment of a common European security

and defence policy with a view to the European Council in Feira (2),

(cid:29) having regard to its resolution of 30 November 2000 on the establishment of a common European

security and defence policy after Cologne and Helsinki (3),

(cid:29) having regard to its resolution of 15 March 2001 on developing the Union’s capabilities in conflict

prevention and civil crisis management (4),

(cid:29) having regard to its position of 17 January 2001 on the proposal for a Council regulation creating the

Rapid Reaction Facility (COM(2000) 119 (cid:29) C5-0272/2000 (cid:29) 2000/0081(CNS) (5),

(cid:29) having regard to the Presidency Conclusions of the Göteborg European Council which endorsed the
European Union Programme for the prevention of violent conflicts as well as the EU-UN cooperation
in the field of conflict prevention and crisis management,

(cid:29) having regard to the Council Decision of 22 May 2000 setting up a committee for civilian aspects of
crisis management (6), and to the development of concrete targets for civilian crisis management in the
fields of police, rule of law, civilian administration and civil protection during the Swedish Presidency;

(1) OJ C 150, 28.5.1999, p. 164.
(2) OJ C 67, 1.3.2001, p. 283.
(3) OJ C 228, 13.8.2001, p. 173.
(4) OJ C 343, 5.12.2001, p. 261.
(5) OJ C 262, 18.9.2001, p. 141.
(6) OJ L 127, 27.5.2000, p. 1.