GENEVA, July 29 (AFP) - European Union ministers will hold a formal council meeting early on Friday in Geneva to discuss the crucial global trade talks under way in the Swiss city, the Dutch presidency of the EU said.
"We are still confident of a positive outcome but it is clear that there are still a lot of things to do," Dutch economics minister Jan Brinkhorst said laate Thursday.
Brinkhorst spoke following an informal ministerial briefing by the EU negotiators, European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler.
But Brinkhorst emphasised the EU ministers had not seen a revised version of the compromise proposal that the World Trade Organisation is preparing, and dismissed any comment on the detail of the talks as "premature".
The comments came as WTO chief negotiators struggled to reconcile differences between its 147 members on bringing down more trade barriers.
However, the EU, and four other core members of the trade body -- the United States, Australia, Brazil and India -- have struck an agreement on the thorny issue of farming but all 147 delegations must reach consensus, WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi said.
Brinkhorst underscored the EU was still seeking a "balance framework" with the other areas of the draft, including industrial tariff barriers and "Singapore issues" -- currently trade facilitation in the text.
"Nothing is concluded until everything is concluded," he told journalists.
The new version of the WTO draft framework laying out the way ahead for global trade talks, notably dealing with agricultural subsidies, has been delayed and will only be available overnight Thursday to Friday, the organisation indicated.
France has sharply criticised the EU Commission`s strategy and tactics in the trade talks with the rest of the 147 members of the WTO, which face a self-imposed deadline of midnight Friday.
The French foreign trade minister and agriculture minister are due to attend the EU meeting Friday.