189. The representative of Australia said that her delegation also agreed with the approach suggested by the Chair. The discussions had been quite useful and had attracted wider participation than usual. Although these negotiations might appear tortuous at times, she believed that Members had gradually been able to discern what the real issues were. She agreed with the Chair that Members should keep discussing the issues and try to address each other's concerns. She supported Argentina's point that it would be positive if the European Communities could come to the next Special Session's meeting with some responses to the questions and concerns raised by many delegations at this meeting. Her delegation would also reflect on certain points, including some of the concerns raised by the European Communities and Switzerland, so as to be able to address them at the next meeting. Some of these points or concerns were, for example, those regarding the effectiveness or sufficiency of the joint proposal or those on how the integrity of information on geographical terms could be ensured under the joint proposal.
190. As to the July working document, she agreed with Argentina that it should be a consensus document from Members. She wondered how a compromise text, as suggested by the European Communities, would work. For example, what would be the compromise between a voluntary and a mandatory register if the only possible options were either to participate or not? Would this compromise be based on the complicated idea of non-participating and participating Members under the EC proposal? The same concern applied to legal effects, where the issue of presumptions and their implications regarding the balance of rights and obligations was an essential one to her delegation and many others. Would the compromise be to diminish Members' rights slightly less than what was being proposed by the European Communities? She was not even sure whether such an idea would be acceptable to her delegation. Therefore, the best course of action was to intensify these negotiations by holding informal consultations, which would hopefully enable Members to come to the next Special Session meeting in June with some responses to each other's concerns, and help them achieve progress in these negotiations.
