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World Trade (Doha Development Agenda)

As the hon. Gentleman knows—he is an enthusiastic supporter of the European Union—the reality is that we are one of 25 member states. The negotiating position of the European Union is therefore achieved through negotiation and, in the end, a consensus position. We cannot just put our documents on the table and expect every other member of the European Union to roll over instantly and agree with our position. If only that were the case. However, we are using the document that we published in March 2005 on EPAs to make the case for development-friendly economic partnership agreements. At the heart of what we think a development-friendly EPA should look like are more liberal and less complex rules of origin and, crucially, maximum flexibility as regards developing countries’ own market opening. That means, in our view, duty-free and quota-free access to EU markets for all ACP countries, not just the least developed countries that currently have such access. There is no substitute for an ambitious and successful outcome to the Doha round. Considerable progress has been made, but there is undoubtedly more to do. We will use every opportunity that we have as a Government. A range of Ministries are engaged in discussion with our partners, from my Department right up to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. We will continue to press for change and the deal that we want. I hope that the pessimism, understandable as it is at this point, will in the end turn out to have been misplaced. Question put and agreed to.