EU Statement at the General Council Meeting, 10-11 March 2026

EU Statement at the General Council Meeting, 10-11 March 2026

Statement Delivered by Ambassador João Aguiar Machado

Item 2

WTO Reform

• I would first like to thank the Facilitator, Ambassador Olberg, for his tireless efforts and work in carrying out the challenging but critical task on WTO reform for the organisation. As the EU has been underscoring over the past months, we stand at a cliff.
• The EU appreciates the detailed report which reflects the past months of intense work of the membership to identify priority topics and a path forward on WTO Reform.
• Throughout this process, the EU has underlined that the deep crisis of the multilateral trading system needs ambitious and bold Reform.
• We agree with the Ambassador Olberg's assessment that the greatest risk is not doing too much but doing too little and support his recommendation to bring the draft Yaoundé Ministerial Statement on WTO Reform and the draft WTO Reform Work Plan for ministers' consideration at MC14.
• While the draft text annexed to the Report is far below the level of ambition that the European Union is aiming for, we appreciate the Facilitator's attempt to capture a middle ground to reflect the reform conversations that members have had on decision-making, development, LPF and foundational issues.
• Unfortunately, the latest version of the draft is disappointing and diluted. It is a pale reflection of the rich discussions and work done on WTO reform and the serious engagement by the membership since June last year.
• However, the draft is what it is - at this stage, we would encourage Members to engage on this basis in a constructive spirit. We are ready to engage and get more clarity on some aspects of the Work Plan.
• It is absolutely vital that a clear message comes out of Yaoundé that Members are willing to engage on deep and comprehensive reform.
• A message on reform that is both specific and credible in the eyes of stakeholders is what is needed in our view.
• The current situation - where some Members refuse a work plan - is deplorable. After months of very hard work, how can we explain to business and stakeholders that there is no common sense of direction?
• The EU is determined to carry on and do what is necessary to ensure that there will be a pathway and credible steps towards a reformed WTO.
• We believe that in light of the planning of the ministerial sessions in Yaoundé, it is important to bring to the ministers all the substantive elements of the WTO Reform work.