Mandelson wins EU support on world trade talks
European Union (EU) trade commissioner Peter Mandelson on Tuesday won overwhelming support from EU member states, availing him of staying the course in world trade talks. At an EU foreign ministers' emergency meeting, Mandelson faced down France, which had demanded guarantees that he make no excessive concessions at the expense of French farmers. "There was no consensus on the (France's) proposal," said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who chaired the meeting. Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Straw stressed that the meeting has come up with three outcomes, including one expressing broad support for Mandelson's negotiatingstrategy because reigning him in would only "make (WTO) negotiations impossible." The second is that the ministers reaffirmed the importance of achieving a "balanced outcome" within and across all of the main elements of the Doha Work Program.
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