"We cannot hide that many of us are frustrated by lack of flexibility and by an apparent apathy in the Doha Round of negotiations. The challenge is not technical; it is political. And, if so, the political cost of failure should perhaps be considered as the most compelling reason for reaching a deal", said the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mr. Pier Ferdinando Casini, in his opening address to the annual session of the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.

Addressing some 400 delegates from over 70 countries who specialize in trade issues, President Casini added that since the last WTO Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong last December, "hope and expectation have given way to concern, apprehension and doubt. The Doha Round has been stalled since last July, negotiations are blocked, and the main protagonists have taken a costly time-out. As politicians, we should hardly be surprised. After all, the Doha Round is the most ambitious attempt that governments have ever made to open trade multilaterally. The scope of the Round and the number of countries involved in it are simply unprecedented, while a good part of the less complicated liberalization opportunities have already been exhausted".

The WTO Director-General, Mr. Pascal Lamy, echoed his sentiments. At a hearing with legislators, he said he was convinced of the need to conclude the Doha Round of negotiations. "After spending a year in Geneva, I am more convinced than ever that failure is possible and that there will be consequences for your countries. This is a hypothesis we must try to fight vigorously".

"I know from experience that your negotiators negotiate and operate within mandates set not only by governments, but also by parliaments. Your role in the negotiations is not limited to the mere tasting of the dish at the end. Many of your constitutional systems are devised in such a way that the end consumer is entitled to pass through the kitchen from time to see to see what is going on there. Your attention should not be caught only at the last minute; it should be caught at the critical moment when things are happening in the kitchen. We are approaching that critical moment and I hope that you will act accordingly to give your governments the necessary margins of flexibility. My message today is very simple: I think this is worth it".

The Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. Manuel António dos Santos, said that "trade can be a powerful force for development and can help to reduce poverty. The potential outcome of the negotiations is a source of great optimism, optimism borne out by some of the figures put forward by the World Bank".

He added that "the developing countries and the least developed countries are those which would suffer most, in the short and medium terms, from a prolonged suspension in the negotiations, since the long-awaited rebalancing of the trade rules in their favour cannot be secured outside the multilateral framework".

The Parliamentary Conference on the WTO is a joint undertaking of the IPU and the European Parliament. Its principal objective is to enhance the external transparency of the WTO and make this intergovernmental organization accountable to legislators as the elected representatives of the people. The sessions of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO are held once a year and on the occasion of WTO Ministerial Conferences.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 148 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations.
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