EU governments have given qualified support to a new plan aimed at ending the long-running trade dispute with the US over bananas which would require all fruit to be imported on a ‘first come, first served’ basis

Date: 12/10/00

Foreign ministers said after a meeting in Luxembourg that plans for a transitional quota regime formed a "basis for settling the banana dispute which can and now must be resolved rapidly". But Germany, Austria and Belgium said the option of moving to a tariff-only system quickly should remain open.