BRUSSELS, May 31: European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned that the struggling WTO talks would succeed only if other countries offered to cut their trade barriers.“We have weeks not months and everyone needs to contribute” to efforts to reach the outline of a deal at the World Trade Organisation, Barroso told a conference in Brussels.

“Europe has put its cards on the table,” he said. “Others have to offer real cuts -- real cuts for real cuts.” After nearly five years of tough negotiations, the latest round of free-trade talks is coming to a pivotal moment, with June seen by many participants as make-or-break chance for real progress.

Differences, notably on trade in agricultural products, have blocked progress in the Doha Development Round, launched with great fanfare in the Qatari capital in 2001.—AFP