Nine European Union countries have called on the EU's chief trade negotiator, Peter Mandelson, to take a firmer line in world trade talks to protect the continent's farmers.
The move comes after both French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi slammed a proposed deal at WTO talks in Geneva as insufficient and asking too much of Europe. Agriculture is one of the key sticking points, with the EU coming under sustained pressure from developing countries to cut its subsidies to its own farmers. Mandelson has said subsidies could be cut by between 54 and 60 percent depending on which products are included in calculations. The Doha round of trade talks has been stalled for years over finding a compromise between rich and poor nations, especially in the area of agricultural subsidies in Europe and the United States.
(Deutsche Welle)
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