UPDATE 2-EU to appeal against WTO ruling on bananas
(Adds Ecuador case)
BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Tuesday it would appeal against a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling that found EU banana import regulations broke international trade rules by favouring Europe's former colonies. "Our view on the decision issued yesterday is that it sets a bad precedent in that it is irrelevant given that our ... preferences have been abolished since the beginning of this year," the Commission's trade spokesman Peter Power told a news briefing, referring to a trade case filed by the United States.
"It indeed encourages WTO challenges by member states which are not affected by particular decisions, and it is our intention to appeal this particular decision," he said.
The WTO ruling, published on Monday, followed a similar verdict a month ago in a case brought against the European Union by the world's largest banana exporter, Ecuador.
In Geneva, Ecuador asked the WTO's dispute settlement body to suspend the adoption of that ruling, due to take effect on Tuesday, pending further negotiations between Ecuador and Brussels.
But Ecuador said it would call a special meeting of the body by June 7 to adopt the ruling, which entitles it to press for sanctions against the European Union.
The United States does not export bananas to the EU, but three of the biggest distributors with plantations in Latin America are U.S. multinationals -- Chiquita Brands International Inc (CQB.N), Del Monte Foods Co (DLM.N) and Dole Food Co.
The United States had complained that the EU's tariff import regime for bananas had favoured fruit suppliers in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) country group -- mainly ex-colonies of Britain, France and Portugal. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Lynn in Geneva; Writing by Jeremy Smith; Editing by Dale Hudson and Jon Boyle)
