222. The Chairman said that, in his experience in the WTO, Members had always been able to compromise on matters like these. The delegation of the European Communities had made a written request that the item to be put on the agenda. It had also indicated to the Secretariat and to him that it would like to make a presentation as part of addressing the issue. He recalled that, at an earlier Council meeting, an EC representative from its customs administration had made a presentation on this subject. It did not seem to him that a presentation outlining the EC experience would cause any injury to those Members who were not inclined to go along with a discussion on the issue. He added that Members still had the facility whereby the European Communities would have to make a written request for this item to be pursued at a future meeting. However, in his view, once such a request had been made at the appropriate time and the agenda had been adopted on the basis of that request, it was not unreasonable for the European Communities to be heard. He therefore asked whether Members could agree to hear the presentation.
