EU trade chief Peter Mandelson expressed his willingness on Thursday to show flexibility in the Doha Round of global trade talks, but his position faces strong resistance inside the 25-nation bloc.

Everybody knows that the Doha Round "is coming to a crunch point," Mandelson told reporters in Geneva, following a meeting with EU trade ministers.

"We will not make progress if negotiators remain in entrenched positions," he said, adding that the EU was prepared to improve its offer in agricultural market access if other major negotiating partners were also ready to move.

But Mandelson's position was challenged immediately by France and Austria on Thursday. Both countries rejected any possibility of making further concessions in agricultural tariff cuts.

"It would be a major error to suggest a further opening in market access," French Agriculture Minister Dominique de Bussereau told reporters.

Christine Lagarde, France's trade minister, also said that Mandelson had no mandate to improve upon Europe's existing offer on tariff cuts.

Austrian Agriculture Minister Josef Proell, whose country holds the EU presidency, echoed France's voice, saying EU farmers would not accept any new concession toward other parties in the talks.

Agriculture is one of the major fields of the Doha Round talks, which was launched by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 with an aim to help poor countries' economic development through fairer trading conditions.

The EU faces major pressure from other WTO members to open further its agricultural market.

The EU has so far put forward an offer of 39 percent cut in agricultural tariffs in exchange for further industrial market access of developing countries and slashing of farm subsidies by the U.S..

But the G20 of major developing countries led by Brazil and India demands a 54 percent tariff cut by the EU, while the U.S. insists a much higher 66 percent cut.

WTO Director-General Pasacl Lamy has indicated that the G20's position could be the basis for consensus.

Some 60 trade and agricultural ministers of key WTO members are gathering in Geneva, where the headquarters of the WTO is located, for a few days of intensive talks with an aim to move the Doha Round forward.

The complex negotiations have been stalled for a long time due to deep differences among WTO members.

Source: Xinhua