France said today the European Union had exhausted its scope for concessions on agriculture in world trade talks and could not give more ground in crucial ministerial negotiations in Geneva next week.
"We have a shared objective: to achieve a rebalancing of the concessions the EU has already made," French Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Idrac told a news conference after chairing a meeting of trade ministers and officials from the 27-nation EU.
"The European Union has run out of room for manoeuvre on agriculture and cannot go any further."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has previously accused EU trade chief Peter Mandelson of giving away too many farm concessions and winning little on industrial goods and services from big developing countries such as Brazil, India and China.
France holds the EU's presidency, making it a key player in brokering the bloc's response to any deal next week to rescue the World Trade Organisation's Doha talks for a global free trade deal which have dragged into their seventh year.
Without a breakthrough next week, the Doha round risks further years of delay as the United States turns its focus to November's presidential election and next year's change at the White House while the European Commission ends its term in 2009.
Mr Mandelson, speaking after addressing today's meeting, said he felt EU governments had strengthened his hand in pressing for more concessions from others in the WTO talks. "I feel stronger going to Geneva following the meeting," he told reporters.
"Member states strongly supported the request we have made for more market access in emerging economy countries.
They want, as I do, that we get proper return for what we are putting on the table. There has to be balance."
Next week's meeting of about 30 trade ministers will aim for a deal on the core issues of farm and industrial goods.
The round was launched shortly after the 2001 terror attacks on the United States in a bid to give the global economy a boost and help poor countries export more. It has been stymied by rifts between rich and poor countries over how to free up trade.
As well as France, other EU countries are also concerned about the possible outcome of a deal.
Reuters