EU Move to Block Trade Aid for Poor

[chlamor]

EU move to block trade aid for poor

Leaked letter says Mandelson will press Blair to weaken deal for developing world

Larry Elliott
Thursday May 19, 2005
The Guardian

Peter Mandelson, Europe's trade commissioner, is seeking to persuade Tony Blair to revise Britain's pro-poor country stance on trade liberalisation, a centrepiece of the government's development agenda for 2005, leaked documents from Brussels revealed last night.

A letter from Peter Carl, the European Commission's top trade official, said Mr Mandelson - still a close confidant of the prime minister - was being used to reverse what Brussels condemned as "a major and unwelcome shift" in the UK's approach.

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"The European Commission clearly wants to use EPAs as a tool to open markets and further its own interests. This is not good. EPAs in their current form would be detrimental to development. They are free trade agreements by any other name and are currently designed to get the most for Europe without the necessary consideration of the negative effects on weaker developing country partners."

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/development/story/0,15709,1487226,00.html