EU states join forces for better WTO terms

By William Schomberg

GENEVA (Reuters) - Nine of the European Union's 27 member states formed an alliance Monday to press for better terms at global trade talks, potentially adding a further complication to the struggling negotiations.

Italy hosted a meeting of trade ministers and senior officials representing one third of the bloc and said they all wanted better terms for Europe than those in compromise proposals to save the World Trade Organisation talks.

"There are still too many shadows over the negotiations," said Adolfo Urso, Italy's top trade official, saying the talks were "significantly out of balance with Europe giving a lot, too much, and still getting too little back".

He cited a lack of progress on new rules for protecting place names associated with foods products, such as Italian Parma ham, and insufficient access to the markets of big developing countries as problem areas in the talks.

The nine countries are: France, Poland, Hungary, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Lithuania, Cyprus and Italy, he said.

EU trade chief Peter Mandelson has said compromises espoused by WTO Director General Pascal Lamy represented a basis for moving forward with the negotiation.

Earlier, France warned that the European Union's governments might not give their unanimous approval to a final global trade deal if it was based on the current WTO compromise proposals.

"The risk exists that on this current basis there might not be unanimity in the European Council of ministers next year on a final agreement," French Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier told Reuters in an interview.

Asked whether France would use its power of veto to block a final deal, Barnier said: "I did not use that word."

In theory, EU trade matters can be decided by a qualified majority but in practice the bloc's acceptance of a global trade deal could not be done over the wishes of big member states.

France, Italy and other EU countries are long-standing critics of Mandelson, accusing him of offering too many agriculture concessions to get a WTO deal.

The WTO talks in Geneva were deadlocked for much of their eighth day on Monday as the United States, China and India in particular wrangled over the degree to which developing countries should open up their markets under a WTO deal.

(Reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Giles Elgood)