Civil Society Dialogue on WTO Reform & Initiatives

• Date: 06/07/2021, 15:00-17:00
• Location: WebEx

Meeting details

Registration closes on: 01/07/2021 @ 12:00

Please note that we have moved to a new registration system.
• Already registered in the new system? Sign up to participate in the meeting
• Not registered yet? Register your organisation

The WTO is the centrepiece of the multilateral rules-based trading system. The Organization has brought stability and predictability to global trading conditions, and has been an engine of prosperity for many decades. However, today the WTO faces a deep crisis. 

Therefore, reforming the WTO is the top priority of European trade policy and the EU, as part of its trade policy strategy published in February 2020, has presented an agenda on ‘Reforming the WTO: towards a sustainable and effective multilateral trading system’. The paper puts forward a set of proposals for restoring the Organization’s relevance and effectiveness addressing the three main WTO functions: rule making, dispute settlement, and monitoring and deliberation. 

A crucial milestone towards this reform, the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (‘MC12’) is only 6 months away. Concrete, confidence-building outcomes in key areas such as fisheries subsidies and the trade and health nexus will be critical for the credibility of the WTO, as well as a clear path towards institutional changes to bring the Organization back on its feet.

Hence, this CSD meeting will focus on three key points. First, the Commission will inform civil society organisations on the EU objectives for MC12, in particular on fisheries subsidies and trade and health, and agriculture. Second, the Commission will present the state of play on the various plurilateral initiatives within the WTO including the Domestic Regulation Agreement, E-commerce and Services Regulation, and Investment Facilitation. Finally, the Commission will present its recent proposals on WTO reform. We look forward to hearing the participants’ views and expectations on these issues.

Lead speaker
- Ignacio Garcia Bercero, Director, Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade), Multilateral Affairs, Strategy, Analysis, Evaluation Directorate

Moderator
Deputy Head of Unit Transparency, Civil Society and Communication Unit, DG Trade, European Commission

Agenda

1. Presentation of EU objectives for MC12
2. Presentation of State of Play of Plurilateral Initiatives
3. Presentation of Commission proposals for WTO Reform
4. Open discussion with stakeholders.

The meeting will take place via WEBEX. Access code and password will be sent to registered participants. We would be grateful if participants could launch their WEBEX connection at least 30 minutes in advance of the meeting so that any technical problems can be arranged in time before the meeting.