General Affairs and External Relations Council dedicated to World Trade Organisation talks
General Affairs and External Relations Council
© MAEE
- from: 18.07.2008
- to: 22.07.2008
- In: Brussels, then Geneva
Chaired by Anne-Marie Idrac, the Minister of State with responsibility for Foreign Trade of France, the extraordinary meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations convoked on 18 July to prepare the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will resume its work in Geneva on Monday 21 July at 14.30.
The debates of 18 July in Brussels focused on the EU Member States' assessment of the texts being negotiated within the WTO in the context of the Doha round.
With regard to the European Union's position, the Council allowed the conclusions of 10 March last to be confirmed, in particular with respect to the importance of achieving a result that is complete, ambitious and balanced in all the areas under negotiation, notably agriculture and access to non-agricultural markets (i.e. industrial tariffs). It reaffirmed the necessity to improve the texts being negotiated and to make progress on the entire 'single undertaking' of the Doha progamme, including services and geographical indications.
- Updated: 17.12.2008
