The European Commission said Moi day, for the first time, that it wot Id he ready to lower the bar in trac e talks with the 78 African, Car bbean and Pacific rim countries making up the so-called ACP grot p.

1 he Commission's trade directorate chief David O'Sullivan told members of the European Parliament that Bru: seis would be prepared to redt ce its ambitions on services orie ited agreements and focus onl) on a goods deal.

" liven the state of the nego-tiati ons we will probably not be able to conclude -- and that is an inderstatement -- six full all-; inging all-dancing EPAs (Economic Partnership Agri ements) by the end of the yeai " he said.

" Jut we are willing to look at the possibility of concluding a goo Is-only arrangement to enst re that the trade flows con-tinu : or improve beyond January 1,2018 if it is possible."

T le ACP countries and the

European Union are struggling to clinch new agreements by the end of the year, when current preferential market access is due to expire.

Existing trade agreements giving preferential market access to the former colonies have to be replaced by the end of the year because the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled that they were illegal.

The Commission, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of the 27 EU nations, is conducting the talks with regions because of the large number of countries involved.

With the year-end deadline looming ever larger, the EU sought in April to boost the negotiations with an offer to scrap all tariffs and quotas on ACP countries' exports with the exception ofsugar and rice.

The agreements are supposed to help ACP countries develop while they diversify their economies and meet WTO requirements that they allow for some opening of their markets to European goods and services.