European Union trade chief Peter Mandelson urged EU states today to unite behind his push for a world trade deal, saying he was being undermined by repeated criticism from French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"It poses a great problem because as the negotiator of the EU, I need the unity of the member states behind me," Mr Mandelson told reporters in Paris on the day France took over the rotating presidency of the 27-country bloc.
Mr Sarkozy said yesterday he would not accept an agreement under the WTO's Doha round of negotiations if it meant European agriculture would be sacrificed in the name of freer trade.
The talks were launched nearly seven years ago to try to ease poverty and boost the global economy.
The French president, speaking on French television, accused Mr Mandelson and WTO chief Pascal Lamy of trying to force a deal on the EU that would be bad for its farming sector.
Mr Mandelson rejected the charge and said the EU needed to speak with one voice. "You know in all negotiations in trade as in all other areas, our unity is our strength," he said.
"We want an outcome that is balanced, which is fair, for everyone including Europe. That is what I'm negotiating for but if I'm undermined, then my ability to reach that outcome will be weakened and I'm sorry for that."
France has long opposed the kind of farm import tariff cuts that Mr Mandelson is offering in return for better access for European exporters of cars, chemicals and other manufactured goods in developing countries such as Brazil and India.
Speaking to reporters later on Tuesday, Mr Sarkozy took another swipe at Mr Mandelson, saying he regretted the British commissioner would not be attending a dinner in his palace along with other EU officials to mark the start of the French EU presidency.
"I would have been delighted to receive Mr Mandelson. I might have some differences with him but it's not forbidden to have disagreements in Europe," Mr Sarkozy said at a joint press briefing with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
"It's because we don't debate issues enough in Europe that we don't manage to explain what's at stake in Europe."
Last month, Mr Sarkozy accused Mr Mandelson of being partly to blame for Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty because Irish farmers were alarmed by his WTO proposals on agriculture.
Mr Mandelson was unable to attend Mr Sarkozy's dinner on Tuesday because he was travelling to Marseille to meet trade ministers from countries around the Mediterranean, a spokesman said.
Ministers from leading WTO countries are preparing to meet from July 21st. Without a breakthrough, the round could be delayed by several more years because of the 2009 change in the U.S. administration.
The Doha round has missed several deadlines as countries wrangled over how to open each other's markets.
Mr Mandelson's spokesman challenged comments by Mr Sarkozy that a WTO deal would lead to a 20 per cent cut in EU farming output and 100,000 job losses, saying they were based on demands by developing countries that the EU has rejected.
Instead, the latest WTO proposals for freeing up farm trade would cause a 1.1 per cent drop in EU agriculture production and a 2.5 per cent fall in employment in the sector by 2014, he said.