Hong Kong, 14 December 2005 - Ahead of this evening's discussion on bananas in the WTO Ministerial plenary session, the European Commission has underlined that it is seeking a balanced banana import regime which is fair for all developing countries.
Mariann Fischer Boel, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, told a press conference in Hong Kong:
"The EU has devoted considerable time this year to getting this right. We are determined to respect our commitments to all developing countries. Our aim is to fully maintain market access opportunities for both Latin American and ACP suppliers. The EU needs to respect its commitment to move to a tariff only regime no later than 1 January 2006.
We believe the tariff of €176/tonne will more than maintain market access for Latin American suppliers. We have also agreed to set up a monitoring system, which will allow us to make changes if needed.
Our new system will also provide an equivalent level of preference for ACP suppliers. It is crucial that we maintain this balance. In the meantime, we are more than happy to continue our discussions with the Latin Americans. We always prefer a negotiated solution to dispute settlement."