European Parliament
Belder (EDD ).
(NL)
Mr President, as I have remarked previously in this House, Christian charity obliges us to adopt a more constructive approach to the development agenda. In that light, I have a number of comments on the present strategy.
My first relates to agriculture. The EU agreed a framework with the United States ahead of Cancún. The US Trade Representative, Mr Zoellick, recently declared himself in favour of resuming the negotiations in the current trade round. I presume that the Commissioner is holding consultations with him with a view to arriving at a framework outlining clear commitments.
A second element in the Doha Development Agenda is the manufacture and import of unpatented medicinal products for developing countries that are undergoing a serious health crisis. The complex import procedure for cheap medicinal products needs to be simplified. The United States is a strategic player in this, so a more workable solution must be agreed with them. I cannot find the necessary clarification on this point in the Commission document.
Finally, this trade round is a development round. The negotiations must not focus on the Singapore issues, but instead all the more on the development issues.

