In his capacity as Commissioner responsible for Trade, Pascal Lamy will lead the European Union's negotiating team in Seattle at the end of November when WTO members convene for the Ministerial Conference to mark the launch of a new Round of multilateral trade negotiations.

The new Round will take place at a time when the challenges posed by globalisation are at the forefront of national, European and world debate. Further trade liberalisation must therefore address and respond not only to the need for increased market access but also to a broad range of wider issues of concern to public opinion at large.

Pascal Lamy argues that harnessing the positive effects of globalisation in the new Round can and must be our objective. We must ensure that free trade makes a real contribution to sustainable development by addressing and catering for issues such as the environment, culture, health and food security. We must aim to integrate developing countries fully into the world economy to ensure they derive the full benefits of liberalisation.

On 22 November 1999, all these questions will be addressed by Pascal Lamy in an on-line debate, between 19h00 and 21h00 (CET) organised by the European Commission.

The chat will be conducted in French, English, German and Spanish. Yoou may ask questions in any of these languages. Questions can also be sent in advance to the following mailbox : Chat-Lamy@cec.eu.int.. Commissioner Lamy will open the chat replying to fundamental questions. More technical enquiries will be answered as they are received.

For general information, consult the Millennium Round site: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg01/dg1newround.htm