Nine EU states urge tougher line from Mandelson in WTO talks: Italy

(GENEVA) - Nine European Union countries on Monday called on the EU's chief trade negotiator to take a firmer line in world trade talks here to protect the continent's farmers, according to Italian negotiators.

The move comes after both French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi slammed a proposed deal at the World Trade Organization Doha round of talks in Geneva as insufficient and asking too much of Europe.

Berlusconi expressed worries about the "absence of progress" during talks in Geneva, while the French government said it would not sign proposals for a trade pact as they stand because they show no progress on "essential" matters.

The nine states -- dubbed the "Club of Volunteers" -- are France, Ireland, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Portugal, Lithuania, Cyprus and Italy, a spokesman for Italy's chief negotiator Adolfo Urso told AFP.

"For too long, Europe has got way too little from emerging countries like India, China and Brazil in exchange for its concessions," the spokesman said.

"Italy with Berlusconi wants to be a positive protagonist in these talks because the current text is largely insufficient," he added.

Agriculture is one of the key sticking points in epic trade talks here, with the EU coming under sustained pressure from developing countries to cut its subsidies to its own farmers.

The EU's chief negotiator Peter Mandelson has said subsidies could be cut by between 54 and 60 percent depending on which products are included in calculations.

But Mandelson is viewed with suspicion in Paris as a so-called "neo-liberal" who would be willing to sacrifice France's hefty agricultural sector for the sake of a deal.

A diplomatic source said Monday that Sarkozy had demanded Mandelson travel to Paris to explain his stance, but that the British commissioner refused.

Talks since last Monday among ministers from about 35 key trading economies appeared to make a breakthrough on Friday, but optimism about a deal dimmed over the weekend as emerging economies held out for better terms.

Any final deal must be approved by all 153 members. Within the EU, all 27 members must also agree to support an accord.