France brings picnic to tense trade talks

A week of world trade talks is no picnic for the European Union's negotiator who has been accused by France of giving too much in his haste to get a deal.

But EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will at least be able to have a picnic after French Farm Minister Michel Barnier gave him a peace offering at the start of crunch World Trade Organisation talks - a hamper full of European delicacies.

Although in theory on the same side of the negotiating table in Geneva, there is no hiding the tensions between France, with its huge farm sector reliant on subsidies, and the British commissioner who desperately wants a new deal on world trade.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has criticised Mr Mandelson - who represents the entire 27-member bloc at the WTO - for giving too many concessions on farm subsidies. He even blamed the commissioner for making the Irish vote against a new EU governing treaty at a referendum last month.

When Mr Mandelson heard Mr Barnier would be attending the Geneva talks, he dismissed the importance of the French minister's presence there, quipping: "He can bring the picnic."