EU Presidency Statement - UN Conference on Trade and Development

Summary: February 4, 2002: Statement by H.E. Mr. Carlo Trojan, Head of the Geneva Permanent Delegation of the European Commission, at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (4-8 February 2002). Commission on trade in goods and services, and commodities. Sixth session (Geneva)

Mr. Chairman,

May I congratulate you on your election to the Chair as well as the other members of the Bureau and Rapporteur.
Most glad to participate at this first meeting of the Commission on Trade in Goods and Services and Commodities of UNCTAD after the Doha WTO Ministerial. The positive results of Doha and their implications for the work of UNCTAD cannot be overestimated. The Secretary-General, Rubens Ricupero, has made this abundantly clear in his introductory remarks. I would like to thank him for his illuminating and comprehensive statement, which will constitute an excellent basis for the further work of this Commission.
Let me recall that one of the overriding objectives of the European Union in the run up of Doha was to work for the better integration of developing countries into the world trading system. I think it is fair to say that we have achieved to include this objective in DDA. It is now up to negotiators to meet this challenge.
In practically every single area that the WTO will be working and negotiating on in the next three years, a clear development mandate is included.
We have clearly committed ourselves to give developing countries appropriate assistance and support to ensure that they will have maximum benefit from whatever deal is negotiated in the Doha Development Agenda.
We are also committed to improving and enhancing existing activities on trade related Technical Assistance and Capacity Building. The EC and its Member States will be major donors of the Trust Fund. But beyond funding we are looking for ways to increase co?operation and synergies between bilateral and multilateral donors and the international institutions active in this field, with a view of delivering assistance in the most effective way in line with priorities of recipients and the objectives set out in DDA.
In Doha we have made progress in all areas of concern for developing countries both on substance and process: Market Access, Agriculture, Industrial Tariffs, Peak's and as far as rules a strong commitment to improve and operationalise existing S&D provisions for developing countries, and the strengthening of their overall capacity to participate in negotiations and to implement the outcome. Role of DC's, decisions taken last Friday with WTO on TNC, the principles and practices governing negotiations and negotiating structure all clearly point to the need to meet developing countries' concerns.
We can add to this the decisions taken on implementation which cover 40 subjects of interest to developing countries and the crucial decision on TRIPs and Access to Medicines (although not part of the negotiation process). I think it is fair to say that never before within WTO/GATT the interests of developing countries have been covered so comprehensively.
I am convinced that the work of this Commission will take these results fully into account. I am glad that we added a new point to the Agenda to discuss specifically the implications of the Doha results for the work of this Commission. We have added a similar point this last week in the Commission on Investment, Technology Transfer and Related Financial issues, and had an encouraging and intensive discussion. I expect the same to happen here.
A brief look at the provisional agenda of our meeting already indicates the importance of the issues we will be taking up. Items 3 (the sustainable use of biological resources), item 4 (the contribution of specific services sectors focussing on energy services), and item 5 (Market Access issues) are all directly relevant to the mandates we have agreed at Doha: We will take these issues up when we focus on Sustainable Development, Market Access for Environmentally Friendly Goods and Services, the Agricultural negotiations and the mandate on non-Agricultural Tariffs.
The discussions on these items should, and I am sure will take place with the results of Doha fully in mind. The European Union believes that UNCTAD has more than ever an important supporting role in preparing developing countries for the negotiations in WTO. We are looking forward to a lively debate in the Commission and will do our best to keep the focus on the challenges ahead of us, as the Ministers have them defined for us at Doha.

Thank you.

Ref: PRES02-011EN
EU source: EU Presidency
UN forum: Second Committee (Economic and Financial Affairs, Environment)
Date: 4/2/2002

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