thank you commissioner and i am conscious that you are standing in for commissioner ashton
i want to congratulate the commission and indeed members in this house who are on the committee on international trade for pushing the line of discouraging protectionist tendencies
i should like to ask about the issue relating to developing countries and how we can ensure that we increase or facilitate trade both with and between developing countries for example via increased trade-related assistance
this is an important component that we should factor in
overall i have seen very encouraging activity from the commission and parliament in relation to protectionist tendencies which would be a retrograde step
