Agence France Presse
LISBON, March 20 (AFP) - The director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Monday accused the European Union of having a "very closed" attitude on farm policy.
Mike Moore, who held talks with EU trade ministers in Porto at the weekend, told the Portuguese daily Diario Economico, said the 15 EU countries were generally "a bit" more flexible on the question of free trade.
But the WTO head warned "they still have a very closed mind" on agriculture, which could delay the launch of a fresh round of world trade negotiations.
EU trade ministers met for the first time since last December's WTO summit in Seattle failed to bridge an ideological gap between the United States and Europe on the question of farm subsidies.
"The difficult qustions, such as those involving textiles and agriculture, have not gone away," Moore said.
Asked about the likelihood of a new round of trade talks starting this year, Moore said, "it will be very difficult. The percentage chances of launching a new round this year are not very high."
The Seattle meeting ended in a stand-off between Europe and the United States, which wanted to limit discussion to services and agricultural products.
Last week, Portugal's Finance Minister Joaquim Pina Moura said the EU wanted new world trade talks as soon as possible.:
