The failure of the Doha trade round could be a harbinger of even worse things to come. For a couple of decades benefits of freer trade have been hailed against the backdrop of increasingly global markets. But free trade has to be fair and needs to be complemented by an international economic regime that helps poor countries develop and modernise. Increasingly unequal incomes in wealthy economies and their fear of the rising power of some emerging economies are triggering bouts of protectionism. Likewise, the struggle to control exhaustible resources and the rise in the prices of basic commodities (including food) increase the propensity to restrict trade in many countries. Mention should be made here of increasingly complicated geopolitics and the probable fallout from the deepening financial crisis.

What action does the Commission intend to take as a strategic demarche to combat the trend towards the fragmentation of trade flows and markets?