141. The representative of Hungary said that his delegation was generally supportive of the number of meetings and of the format of meetings that the Chairperson had mentioned. His delegation also shared the Chairperson's sense of urgency and held the view that the commencement of serious negotiations towards points of convergence could only be expected once a text from a neutral source was tabled. He shared the views expressed by the EC delegation that a text by the Chair in April would be too late: that would only give delegations four working months to arrive at a solution on a complex issue which they had not been able to solve in the past years. He was surprised to hear the optimistic statement by the delegation of Australia, who seemed to argue on a different issue that nine months would not be enough for an amendment. He strongly urged the Chairperson to present the paper as early as possible, because he believed that, unless the paper was tabled, delegations would only be repeating positions. His delegation wished to have the Chair's paper as early as February so that it could be discussed in the first formal meeting. However, if that were not possible, it could be made available before the second meeting. In the latter case, he suggested that the date of the second meeting be moved forward from April to March.
