madam president we in the party of european socialists are committed to a successful outcome of the doha development round yet the ticking of the political clock has created a situation where if you like progress is on hold
commissioner ashton made the point that in the united states we have a new and from my point of view very welcome administration in that of president obama but we are waiting for a review of trade policy which may take some time
in april or may there will be elections in india
the one place commissioner ashton did not mention was the european union itself where we have our own european parliament elections in june and following that a new incoming commission in which i hope commissioner ashton will continue to serve as trade commissioner
yet that does not mean that there is nothing to do in the interim
europe must continue to emphasise its commitment to development and free trade within the context of ensuring an end to exploitation and meeting the need for sustainable development
i agree with mr papastamkos free trade on this basis can be a win-win situation for all participants
the current financial and economic crisis is a reason to move forward and not to retreat
commissioner ashton and the commission can try to prepare the ground for a compromise between the united states and india
it was obstinacy on both sides in my view that acted to scupper a successful conclusion at the last time of asking
matters may be eighty agreed but we need the other twenty
we have one new administration in the united states
the outcome of the indian election may give us another
in the mean time we have no choice but to continue to pursue bilateral agreements
i welcome the progress made in last week's negotiations on the free trade agreement with the republic of korea where i understand we are close to reaching an agreement which again will benefit both sides
i am the rapporteur on the free trade agreement with asean and have to say that the negotiating basis is creating an institutional road block
we need to consider the possibility of looking at a coalition of the willing and able among asean who can if you like sign off on an agreement
as with india there is in my view currently no governmental will to achieve an outcome
after the election delhi's incoming administration whether new or old must put up or we the eu must move on to those who want not just to talk but to arrive at a conclusion
finally i welcome mr pannella the next speaker who is the new alde spokesman on trade
maybe a visit to the committee on international trade would prove appropriate
we would welcome him
