"I don't see why agriculture always has to be the bargaining chip in Europe's trade negotiations... especially when a certain number of South American countries, notably Argentina, are putting new protectionist tariffs on food imports, " he said.

BBC: EU eases trade with Latin America at Madrid summit

Technically, his role will be to oversee a new round of world trade negotiations, which is due to start in Seattle in November: it will cover, among other areas, agriculture, services, industrial tariffs and, probably, electronic commerce.

ECONOMIST: The human face of globalisation | The