WRITTEN QUESTION E-0585/04 by Bill Miller (PSE) to the Commission. WTO talks Cancun and Geneva.
Date: 2004-02-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: World Trade Organisation, developing countries, international meeting, liberalisation of trade, tariff negotiations, the EU's international role, trade agreement, trade cooperation

C 88 E/196

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

(cid:1) in particular, the Commission considers that the figure of 89 % ‘reduced value’, which the Court
applies to payments totalling EUR 4,5 million (less than 5 % of total Community aid to Zimbabwe in
2002), reflects neither the real situation nor the circumstances the Commission faced, if the payments
were to remain legal and regular;

(cid:1) In addition to the negotiation of a ‘blend’ rate to offset the effects of the difference between the official
exchange rate and the ‘parallel’ market rate, the Commission and the Delegation took the following
important measures:

(cid:1) reducing payments in local currency to a minimum;

(cid:1) making euro payments outside the country wherever possible (for instance, by focussing the

health programme almost exclusively on drugs procurement);

(cid:1) ensuring that the imprest accounts of local project work programmes have euro components.

Total Community aid to Zimbabwe in 2002 came to EUR 94 million, of which only EUR 8 million was
spent inside the country. Food aid, agricultural inputs, and medical supplies, for instance, were bought
from neighbouring countries.

(2004/C 88 E/0201)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0585/04

by Bill Miller (PSE) to the Commission

(26 February 2004)

Subject: WTO talks Cancun and Geneva

After the failure of the WTO talks in Cancun and the resumption of talks in Geneva, I would be obliged if
you could provide an update of what progress has been made.

Is the European Union still insisting on new issues being introduced?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(17 March 2004)

Following the failure of the Cancun Conference, the Commission reviewed its position as set out in its
Communication to the Council,
to the Parliament and to the Economic and Social Committee of
26 November 2003 on ‘Reviving the DDA (cid:1) the EU perspective’ (1), the orientations of which were
endorsed by the Council on 9 December 2003 (2). It can be seen from this that the EU has adopted a
different and more flexible approach to some of the ‘new issues’ referred to by the Honourable Member.

The Parliament discussed the Prospects for the Doha Development Round at its sitting of 13 January 2004.
The Commission very much welcomes the broad support that was given to its approach of giving priority
to multilateral negotiations, being ready to be more flexible on certain topics including the so-called
Singapore issues and itensifying the dialogue with trading partners with the aim of using the coming
months to progress the negotiations in the way that should have happened in 2003.

Since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) General Council meeting on 15 December, where there was a
clear expression by all WTO Members of their political will to continue the DDA negotiations, the
Commissioner responsible for Trade has travelled to Brazil
for a meeting with the G-20, to India,
Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Kenya, met the G90 in Geneva, attended the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary
Assembly in Addis Ababa and visited to Washington as well as holding other meetings in Brussels. Further
such discussions will be held in the run up to the May WTO General Council meeting.

(1) COM(2003) 734 final.
(2) 15535/03 of 5.12.2003.