Rådskonklusioner alm. anligg. og ekst. forb. 12/7 vedr. WTO

Til underretning for Folketingets Europaudvalg vedlægges rådskonklusioner fra rådsmødet (almindelige anliggender og eksterne forbindelser) den 12. juli 2004 vedrørende WTO.

The Council noted that EU Trade Ministers had carried out a thorough evaluation of the situation of the Doha Round negotiations in an informal discussion the previous day, where broad support to the Commission was expressed, both as far as the Commission's strategy and its tactics are concerned.

The Council took note of the presentation made by Commissioner Lamy on the current state of the negotiations.

The Council underlined the importance of reaching a satisfactory agreement at the WTO General Council at the end of July on the negotiating frameworks for agriculture, non agricultural market access, the Singapore Issues, and development. Those framework texts should reflect the key EU objectives and interests at this stage in the Doha negotiations. In that respect, the Council stressed the importance of achieving a balanced approach between the four areas for decision in July, as well as balance between the different pillars of the agriculture framework modalities, and full parallelism between commitments on different forms of agricultural export competition.

The Council took note of the Commission’s intention to inform and consult Member States regularly in the 133 framework, both in Brussels and Geneva on progress in the negotiations.

The Council agreed to hold a special session of the Council in Brussels, which is foreseen for the 26^th July 2004 (at 10:30), with a view to establishing the EU position on texts to be submitted to the WTO General Council.

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