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EU warns against playing 'smart politics'

In an apparent attack on India and other developing counties for its tough posture on the launch of a new round, European Union on Saturday warned against playing "smart poltics" which it said was dangerous for the very survival of multilateral trade negotiations.

"The WTO cannot afford a second failure," EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said adding, "some delegations play on everybody else's risk aversion to try to force others to adjust their positions. But we will only succeed in Doha if there is flexibility on the part of all participants."

Cautioning that returning home empty handed could be a smart politics, "but sometimes equality of misery is just bad policy masquerading as smart politics, Lamy told the WTO Ministerial conference plenary in an obvious reference to India's strong opposition to EU and US attempts to bulldoze its way to make New Delhi agree to extraneous issues like investment, competition and environment that are detrimental to developing countries interests.

Lamy claimed that EU was consistent in demonstrating flexibility over the last two years and on the question of implementation concerns said, "We are ready even to countenance a renegotiations of certain areas as part of a new round of talks."

On contentious issue of Agriculture, Lamy said, "we have our tough points, but even there I think it is recognised that we are ready to advance substantially."

On investment and competition, he claimed EU offered the chance to opt in or out of the negotiations. And on environment, EU was only seeking negotiations to clarify how the rules work and was ready to build in anti-protectionist safeguards.

Asserting that it was a "dangerous game" to push others always to be first to show flexibility, Lamy said, "it is not a game we should play."

"There is too much at stake for that. Not just the immediate success of this meeting or the future of the WTO. Not just the immediate prospects of the world economy, although the world is clearly searching desperately, and even more of course since the tragic events of September 11, for the good economic news that launching new negotiations would bring.

Lamy said launching new negotiations in the WTO was just enough though it was a critical element.

"We need to make this week the first element in virtuous sequence. Doha for the round. Next Stop: Monterrey for improved development finance. Third stop, Johannesburg for sustainability."

Particularly in the post September 11 environment, "we need to use all the multilateral tools at our disposal if we are to make real progress towards sustainable development," Lamy said adding at Doha a new round of negotiations should be launched within three year timeframe for completing it.

On public health concerns, Lamy said there has to be a right mix of trade and other policies.

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