Mariann Fischer Boel
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development

Statement to the press on WTO negotiations

Press conference
Geneva, 16 December 2004

I'm very glad to be here in Geneva today.

I wanted to come here as soon as I could after taking office.

The successful conclusion of the world trade negotiations will be a major priority for the first part of my term of office.

As chief agricultural negotiator for the European Union, I will play a leading role in the talks on the Doha Development Agenda.

I am in regular contact with Peter Mandelson. We are in complete agreement on the need to inject new impetus and a sense of urgency into the negotiations.

Over the course of today, I will be meeting all the key players in the agriculture negotiations: Dr Supachai, Mr Oshima, Mr Groser and Mr Wolter, as well as representatives of the G10, the G20, the Cairns Group, the G90 and the FIPs.

I particularly want to congratulate Tim Groser for the excellent work he has done to move the agricultural discussions along.

The Agreed Framework adopted earlier this year is a very important step forward for both the DDA and the WTO in general.

It's a balanced text which I hope will allow us to reach agreement on modalities in Hong Kong.

The EU has made far-reaching reforms to its farm policies over the past two years which must be acknowledged. I hope our trading partners recognise this and will match our level of ambition.

We have decoupled the vast majority of our direct payments. Farmers will be free to produce what the market wants and to become entrepreneurs.

The changes we have made are good for European farmers and meet the expectations of our consumers and taxpayers. They are also good for the Doha Round and good for developing countries.

The EU is by far the world's largest customer for farm products from developing countries. The Everything But Arms initiative is proof of our commitment.

We have made a substantial contribution towards more market-orientated world agricultural trade and increased the chances that the talks in Geneva will be a success.

Next May/June, we will build on this progress, by bringing forward proposals to reform our sugar market. I hope we can reach political agreement on these plans before Hong Kong.

The CAP reforms of 2003 and 2004 have made the Green Box a central element of our policy, hugely reducing trade distortions. The proportion of domestic support in the Blue Box has declined substantially.

We must keep the Green Box intact.

We have pledged to eliminate export refunds, but this offer must be matched by all our partners.

On market access, we must balance substantial improvements in access with the need to provide comfort for sensitive products.

And we must tackle all market access issues together so we can see the `big picture'. The negotiations should proceed at similar speed in all sectors. There is more to the Round than agriculture.

The EU will continue to push for protection of Geographical Indications. They should be on the table at the session beginning on 7 February. We must also take account of non-trade concerns.

Good work is being done on a technical level. In Spring, we need to get into a more political dialogue, in agriculture as well as in other areas.

The EU is ready to play its part. I am ready to play mine. I look to our partners to move forward with us.

Thanks for listening. I'll be happy to take your questions.