Copyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

May 17, 2005 Tuesday
London Edition 3

SECTION: LEADER; Pg. 18

LENGTH: 472 words

HEADLINE: Pascal's best bet: Lamy's peaceable appointment belies big tasks ahead

BODY:


As appointments to international institutions go, this was a pretty good one. Given the shambles of the previous selection, which produced a term split between two candidates, the appointment of Pascal Lamy as director-general of the World Trade Organisation was a model of calm and reason.

True, the process - successive rounds of private consultations with WTO member countries - could be more transparent and may not cope with a more fractious competition. But on this occasion all four candidates, the consultative team led by Kenyan WTO ambassador Amina Mohamed, and indeed the entire WTO membership are to be commended for the smoothness of the selection. Whatever the merits of the three candidates from the developing world, that an organisation dominated by poor nations picked a Frenchman instead at least showed that its members looked beyond simple considerations of constituency.

Mr Lamy takes over in September just a few months before the pivotal WTO ministerial meeting in December. Though the director-general's role is to facilitate and convene rather than hand down executive orders, there will nonetheless be significant potential for him to speed up the Doha round. At present intermittent bursts of enthusiasm, producing minor breakthroughs, too infrequently punctuate weeks on end of dyspeptic bickering.

To do so, he will have to gain the confidence of those WTO members who continue to regard him with suspicion. The new director-general has few rivals in his technical knowledge and bureaucratic skills. But there are legitimate concerns about some of his past actions.

Mr Lamy's selection owes something to his initiatives to help developing countries while he was European Union trade commissioner. Some were welcome, such as the Everything But Arms scheme to open markets to exports from the poorest countries. But others smacked of unhelpful dirigisme and political game-playing, such as his plan to require less fortunate developing countries to sign 27 international conventions and treaties, some of them with tangential relevance to trade, to continue receiving trade preferences.

Early on, Mr Lamy needs to show that he can reach out not just to those that supported him - the EU and its former colonies that have been granted special preferences - but also those that did not, such as more pro-liberalisation emerging market nations in Latin America. There must be no more toying with another of his misguided ideas - woolly notions about nations choosing with whom they want to trade on the basis of "collective preferences" or shared values.

During his time at the European Commission, Mr Lamy showed he can adapt his views and formidable talents to the reality of the situation. He must do so again. The opportunity for a successful conclusion to the Doha round is narrowing. There is no time to waste.

LOAD-DATE: May 16, 2005