International Trade committee  You just need to look into the statistics to see with which member states Canada trades more, with which member states Canada trades less, and with which member states has Canada had some problems in the past that could relate to a country. As we say in European terms, know the c

International Trade committee  Again, whether I'm optimistic or not, I think the commission is the one sitting at the negotiating table. They are able to give a better view. Politically, the commitment is there. I cannot see any political obstacles whatsoever in this. It is true, and sometimes it's difficult

International Trade committee  In general, the pressure from, or the intention of, the European Union is for its trading partners to conform to its standards. The reason is very simple. As a member of the European Parliament elected in Spain, I have seen this problem elsewhere. For example, it makes no sense t

International Trade committee  Let me try to qualify that. It is the commission that negotiates, not the Parliament. Once the Lisbon treaty is enforced, which is not the case now, we'll vote at the end of the negotiation period to support or not support, whatever finishes that negotiation. It's in the way the

International Trade committee  First of all, the very fact that you asked that question shows how close together we are. The questions people ask say a lot about the kinds of concerns that they have. Your question could have been composed by a member of the European Parliament, whereas politicians in other par

International Trade committee  The answer to that question is a long lecture that I did not prepare before I came. I will say first of all that agriculture means very different things from country to country. On the one hand, a global approach to agriculture is needed, as we are trying to do in Geneva. On the

International Trade committee  Let me answer your last question first. I feel that it is impossible to exclude agriculture because that would fundamentally change the outlook and the reality. It would no longer be the World Trade Organization, just an accord between some developed countries. You cannot talk ab

International Trade committee  No, I don't think we can talk about a protectionist mood on our side, honestly. I think if there's a place in the world where we do believe in international trade and in openness, it's the European Union. It doesn't mean that in certain specific areas we might not be more open t

International Trade committee  Yes, indeed. I will put it very directly. You cannot negotiate anything related to trade with any member state. It is not that you can start the negotiation and the commission will step in afterwards. It's that no member state has negotiating power in trade issues. They cannot e

International Trade committee  No, it's not the translation. I will hear much better with my own device, because....

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. It is really an honour for me to be here representing the International Trade Committee of the Parliament. There were supposed to be two of us, but my colleague had to cancel the trip. Being among parliamentarians, I can explain it very easily. We have ele