EU fails to agree on common WTO strategy
LUXEMBOURG, Oct 11 (AFP) - The European Union failed Monday to agree on a common approach to upcoming multilateral trade talks under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) mostly because of differences over film and television productions.
EU trade and foreign ministers asked their ambassadors in Brussels to continue work on the common strategy and to find a compromise solution ahead of the WTO conference in the US city of Seattle next month, a spokesman said.
"The discussions focussed on two issues mostly, the issue of social standards and of audiovisual productions," said the French minister for European affairs, Pierre Moscovici.
On the issue of television and film production, France is demanding that each country retain its right to legislate freely in that area.
France also opposes a liberalisation of the film and television markets, fearful that the United States will flood the world market with its productions.
Germany, for its part, said it found the text weak on the issue of social standards and insisted that a formal task force be set up to study labour relations and trade, not just a "forum" as called for in the draft statement.
Foreign ministers are expected to take up the matter again at a meeting in Brussels on November 15.