EUROPEAN trade chief Pascal Lamy said yesterday the European Union was ready to get back to world trade talks and would be less insistent on pursuing issues which helped negotiations collapse in September.

The EU?s determination to return to the talks comes as the world trade scene is marred by disputes between the EU and the United States, and the United States and China. The relaunch of the global trade negotiations is expected to be slow.

?We have listened carefully to all points of view inside and outside Europe, and we believe there is now enough support to get the train back on track,? Lamy said in a statement.

No new offer was made

The collapse of the talks in the Mexican resort of Cancun dealt a severe blow to Lamy, who had enthusiastically promoted the negotiations as the main plank of EU policy, which as European Trade Commissioner he runs on behalf of 15 States.

But Lamy said the EU continued strongly to back talks for broad global deals within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), rather than going for a patchwork of deals in bilateral talks.

WTO officials meet on December 15 to try to get negotiations going again, but senior negotiators have already warned the going will be tough.

Lamy said the EU was ready to be more flexible on a number of issues which helped bring the negotiations down, but he wanted others to move on policies of interest to Europe. No new offer was made on opening agriculture markets ? a major sticking point in Cancun.

Lamy said the EU would show more readiness to compromise over the so-called Singapore Issues, which have been a key stumbling block for the trade talks.

The areas covered by the Singapore Issues would extend WTO rules to cover competition and investment policy and bring in new rules against corruption and excessive red tape in trade.

The Cancun meeting broke down when an alliance of poorer African and Asian States refused even to discuss these issues.