Iraq has applied for observer status at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a first step to possible membership of the 146-state body, WTO officials said on Monday. The request, which has the strong support of Washington, won immediate backing from the European Union, several of whose members opposed Washington’s invasion of Iraq last year to topple former President Saddam Hussein. ‘‘We should support Iraqi observership.because we believe that this is good for the Iraqi people,’’ EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said in Brussels. He said the request could be put to the WTO’s next executive general council in mid-February. But the bid, submitted to WTO director-general Supachai Panitchpakdi by Iraqi interim trade minister Ali Allawi, needs unanimous approval. And it was far from certain that all countries would see the current Iraqi leadership as having the necessary political and legal authority to make such a request, diplomatic sources said. (Reuters)
