EU unity on WTO chief frays as Hungary backs Britain's Fox

By Michael Nienaber and Philip Blenkinsop
BERLIN/BRUSSELS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - EU governments agreed
on Monday on the qualities they want from the next leader of the
World Trade Organization, but no longer back the same candidates
after Hungary said committed Brexiteer Liam Fox would be one of
its picks.
The bloc were united on their choices in the first round of
selection as the field was cut from eight to five. But Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on
Sunday evening his country would back Fox, a former Conservative
trade minister who strongly supported Britain's exit from the
European Union, as well as Kenya's Amina Mohamed in round two.
A number of EU countries, notably France, oppose Fox's
candidacy, EU diplomats say.
Earlier on Monday, Fox told a briefing that he was hoping
for more EU support. "I would say that the UK is following
exactly the agenda that the EU would have had, had the EU had a
candidate in this race, which of course it doesn't."
His pro-free trade agenda would be beneficial to most
European economies, such as Hungary, the 10th most open economy
in the world in terms of trade as a percentage of GDP, or two
other top 10 nations Luxembourg or Ireland.
German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told a news
conference after EU trade ministers met in Berlin that the EU
had done well to get three of its picks through - Mohamed,
Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea's Yoo Myung-hee.
He added there was a good chance that an overwhelming
majority of EU countries would stick together on the issue.
European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, who
now oversees trade at the EU executive, said there was "strong
agreement" among ministers on Monday that the next WTO
director-general should be someone capable of managing profound
reform.
"To be credible the new leader of the WTO must enjoy the
trust of WTO members and be able to present balanced views that
reflect the diverse nature of WTO membership."
The WTO has said it wants to select the winning candidate by
early November.

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