Africa: Leaked Letter Says Mandelson Will Press Blair To Weaken Deal For Developing World

Peter Mandelson, Europe's trade commissioner, is seeking to persuade Tony Blair to revise Britain's pro-poor country stance on trade liberalization, a centerpiece of the government's development agenda for 2005, leaked documents from Brussels said, reports The Guardian (UK). A letter from Peter Carl, the European Commission's top trade official, said Mandelson - still a close confidant of the prime minister - was being used to reverse what Brussels condemned as "a major and unwelcome shift" in the UK's approach.