France is to hold a special meeting of European ministers to discuss the EU position on global commerce as the World Trade Organisation seeks to conclude a long-deadlocked deal.
Europe Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet said France will organise the meeting of foreign affairs ministers between 14 and 20 July to deal with European positions regarding the WTO.
He said Europe cannot sit back and do nothing about the WTO, which was a major cause of trouble in Ireland, regarding agriculture, as it is France.
Mr Jouyet, whose country takes over the rotating EU presidency on 1 July, was referring to Ireland's rejection of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which plunged the 27-nation bloc into crisis.
On Wednesday, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy invited ministers from 30 leading countries to a meeting in Geneva on 21 July to try to broker a final deal in the so-called Doha round of trade talks.
The Doha round, aimed at creating a new global agreement to remove barriers to trade and spur cross-border exchanges, has been deadlocked because of disagreements between the US and Europe, and developed and developing countries.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy last week however ruled out a free-trade deal at the WTO after Ireland's rejection of the EU treaty.
