Sakova: EU Ministers Dissatisfied with March Negotiations on WTO Reform

Brussels, 22 May (TASR-correspondent) - Friday's meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council - trade segment in Brussels addressed among other issues the outcome of negotiations held in Yaounde, Cameroon in late March, which focused on revising the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) has stated in Brussels, noting that EU countries aren't satisfied with the outcome of the talks. The WTO negotiations took place in Yaounde between 26-30 March, and following their conclusion, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic acknowledged in an interview with TASR that the EU doesn't consider them to have been successful in terms of the results achieved and reform efforts. According to Sakova, ministers from EU-member states responsible for economic and trade affairs reached a similar conclusion on Friday. "Several ministers expressed the view that the World Trade Organisation really should undergo some kind of change, some kind of reform, because the rules currently in force no longer reflect the needs of the global economy. And, above all, even the rules that are currently in force aren't being followed," she said. According to her, this has led to a situation marked by fragmented global trade and fragmented national economies, and investors lack stability; they don't know whether they can invest or what they should invest in. am/df