China News Agency, Brussels, June 29 (Reporter De Yongjian) The European Commission Trade Commissioner Hogan, who is regarded as a popular candidate by the outside world, announced on the 29th that he has withdrawn from the WTO's new director-general election on the ground of "too long to appoint".

  Hogan, the former Minister of Finance and Environment of Ireland, issued a withdrawal statement on the same day, saying that he had reported the matter to the European Commission President Von Delaine and was approved, and he will return to the position of European Commission trade commission from now on.

  On May 14 this year, the current Director-General of the World Trade Organization Azevedo announced that he would resign on August 31, ending his term one year earlier. Hogan, who served as the European Commission’s trade committee for less than half a year, announced his intention to run for the new WTO Director General.

  Hogan said in his statement that the current WTO is in crisis and requires all member states to "contact in good faith" to promote substantial reform of the WTO, while Azevedo "surprisingly decided to leave early" in order to Reforming WTO rules, functions and structures has brought opportunities.

  He said that in this case, the new Director-General of the WTO should be finalized "without delay", but "the situation has become clear in recent days, and the timetable for the appointment made in early September this year will be delayed." Leadership faces variables.

  Afterwards, he listed a series of important EU trade agendas, such as the economic recovery after the epidemic, European and American trade disputes, China-EU investment agreement negotiations, and the UK's "Brexit" negotiations. He said that these tasks require the full participation of the European Commission's trade committee members. The decision to withdraw from the election of the new Director-General of the WTO also leaves time for others to decide whether to stand for election.

  On the 8th of this month, the WTO officially launched the selection process of the new director-general, which ends on July 8. At present, Mexico, Nigeria, Egypt, Moldova, South Korea and other member countries have nominated their own director-general candidates to the WTO. July 8 The WTO will announce the final list of candidates in the future.

  As a candidate from developed economies, Hogan was once regarded by public opinion as a popular candidate for the new Director-General of the WTO, but the reaction within the EU was mixed. Earlier, some media quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that France, the Netherlands and other Western European countries said that the EU should support a candidate from outside Europe, especially from Africa. (Finish)