Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (ALDE). – (DE) Madam President, Commissioner, once again – yet again – a Doha Round has failed. Is the WTO simply boring the world now? Certainly not! We really were almost at the point of agreement. There was not very much left to be done, but at the last moment, India and China – of all countries – caused the talks to collapse. That makes it very clear that the talks did not run aground for technical reasons but that the event had a political nature, as it shows that the new power centre of the world trade round is in Asia and no longer so much in Europe.

China’s role is considerable, as China has so far always been committed to free trade, but suddenly it apparently has a new agenda.

Nevertheless, I would like to extend sincere congratulations to the Commission – to you, Commissioner, and also to Commissioner Mandelson, on the positive role played by the EU. Unlike in Hong Kong, we were involved in the negotiations, were pro-active and were prepared to make compromises. It is rather a shame, though, that Mr Mandelson is leaving at this point; it means we have to change horses in midstream. He was a good negotiator. He hassled us a lot in Parliament, and he leaves big shoes for Lady Ashton to fill. All the best!