WORLD TRADE WT/GC/(95)/ST/2
9February 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0286)
Original: French GENERAL COUNCIL
13and15December 1995
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Statement byMr.Beseler
Deputy Director-General, External Relations
Oneyearago,theEuropean Community waspreparing todeposit theratification instruments
oftheWTO Agreement. Thatactwasmuch morethanaformality: itwasthemostsolemn confirmation
possible ofitscommitment toastrengthened andeffective multilateral system abletomeettheneeds
ofoureconomies. Today, theOrganization has112members, afigure which bears witness tothe
political importance thattheworld attaches toitand,ofcourse, theworld 'sexpectations ofit.
Thereport presented toustoday isthefirstannual report submitted bytheDirector-General
oftheOrganization. Itallows ustolookbackoverthewhole of1995and,allinall,tohaveconfidence
eventhough, asthesubject orourwork isconstantly changing, wealways havetolookbeyond the
results already obtained. Ishould like,onthisoccasion, tothank andcongratulate ourDirector-General,
Mr.Ruggiero andassure himthatthedynamism andenergy hehasdevoted todefending and
strengthening themultilateral system hasourfullsupport.
Once again thereport highlights amajor achievement: growth inworld tradeingoods remains
highandfor1995 willbetriple thegrowth inworld production, following thetrend which began in
theearly 1990s. Thisisaclearsignthatintegration onaworld scale iskeeping upasustained pace
asregards goods: there canbenobetter justification ofourwork within theWTO.
Yetwemustbeaware thatthemovement towards anincreasingly opentrading system implies
adjustments which aresometimes difficult tomanage. Sowemustconstantly beready toexplain to
public opinion thatsuchanevolution istotheiradvantage andthatunemployment rateswhich arestill
unacceptable inmany ofourcountries willunfortunately risethanrather dropifprotectionist forces
carry theday.
Throughout thisyear,theOrganization hasworked hardandwell. Wehavesetallitsstructures
inplace; ithasgradually gotdown toconcrete issues -witness inparticular thegrowing number of
cases submitted todispute settlement, thecornerstone ofourOrganization. Itishere, within our
Organization andunder theprocedures wehavesetforourselves thatourdisputes mustbedealtwith,
andnotbythreat orimposition ofunilateral sanctions. Themembership oftheappellate body has
caused some problems; theywillhavetobesolved. Wecannowtrustonlythatitswork willbeequal
toourexpectations ofsoimportant abody.
Idonotintend toreview thereport indetail. ButIwould liketoraise oneortwoofthe
problems wehaveallcome upagainst during thepastyear.
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First, great importance must beattached tothework ofnotifications. IntheCommunity 's
view, thisisanessential element oftheAgreement which wemustallrespect. Only bytransparency
canwebuild trustwhile fullyobserving theobligations wehaveundertaken. Thetableprovided by
theSecretariat suggests thatmuch remains tobedoneinthisarea, evenbythemajor partners. Once
wehavethenotifications, wewillstillhavetoexamine them carefully.
MysecondremarkconcernstheOrganization'suniversality.Twenty-eightcountrieshaveapplied
tojoinit.TheCommunity attaches theutmost importance tothesuccess oftheaccession negotiations;
theymust beconcluded incompliance withthefundamental principles oftheOrganization.
Butthere isalsoanother matter: thecredibility oftheWTO. Many developing countries,
oftenamong theleastdeveloped, areunable totakefulladvantage oftheirmembership ofamultilateral
system. Undoubtedly, responsibility forgreater participation liesfirstandforemost withthem. But
theWTO musthelpthemattain thatobjective. Inthisconnection, theCommunity hasrecently released
substantial funds, which ithasplaced attheSecretariat 'sdisposal, tofinance seminars inAfrican,
Caribbean andPacific countries. Wehopethatourmaintrading partners willengage insimilar efforts.
Intheareaofservices, therearetwoimmediate objectives requiring theefforts ofallmembers
oftheOrganization: first,thenegotiations onbasic telecommunications formaritime transport. Our
aimistoobtain substantial market access andnational treatment commitments, onanMFN basis.
Asregards financial services, theWTO must aimtoextend geographical coverage andimprove the
package ofcommitments inthissector bythetimetheinterim agreement expires.
Then there istheproblem ofregional integration. LastSpring, theSecretariat presented an
excellent report showing thatregional integration andmultilateralism could strengthen eachother in
certain conditions. Itisourdutytoensure thattheconditions laiddown intheGeneral Agreement
arescrupulously fulfilled. Inthiscontext, theCommunity supports theideaofsetting upaCommittee
todealwithregional integration issues.
TheSingapore Conference willbeatestofourability toadapt theWTO toarapidly changing
world. Thedateisfastapproaching. Some matters concerning theConference havebeendiscussed
inseveral places. Irealize thatsuchseminars orinformal meetings havebeenuseful, buttheymust
notmake usforget thatitisattheWTO, inGeneva, thatthepreparation forSingapore mustbedone.
Inthisconnection, wewelcome theinitiative taken lastweek bytheChairman oftheGeneral Council
andtheDirector-General ofholding aninformal meeting ofHeads ofDelegations.
Singapore willbethefirstConference inthelifeoftheWTO; there willdoubtless beothers,
since ourMinisters willnowbemeeting every twoyears.
Itwillnevertheless haverepercussions which should notbeunder-estimated. Public opinion
willjudge usnotonlyonourcapacity toimplement theresults oftheUruguay Round butalsoour
capacity tomanage thefuture. Accordingly, weneedanambitious agenda which willmeettheneeds
oftheworld economy anditsdifferent components.