He says his letter in answer to the antiglobalists' arguments is "personal," but Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt is taking good care that his partners opinions' are being heard, that general considerations alternate with real initiatives, that concessions are sufficiently concrete, and that his letter that will be published this Monday [10 September] will attract worldwide attention. His timing is right. First, his foreign trade minister, Annemie Neyts, has to create the right climate. Today, she will read a declaration on globalization in the European Parliament; later this week she will preside the informal meeting of EU foreign trade ministers in Bruges. During this meeting, she has scheduled a meeting with peaceful antiglobalists, "but there is little I can do," she said in an interview. 
	
	
 "This is no blind violence but rather targeted violence," Annemie Neyts said referring to the antiglobalist movement that set Gothenburg and Genoa, among other cities, ablaze. "However, the movement is more than that. There are also peaceful protesters. We should listen to them. The current generation, too, is entitled to receive answers. The protest movement is colored by leftist ideology. They thought they had lost the game, and all at once they see an opportunity to resume their ideological fight against capitalism. We should keep listening and arguing, but adopt a cautious approach. In 1968 [Paris student revolt] I was annoyed at politicians who sided with us just to gain popularity." 
	
	
 Neyts, who has also been presiding the Liberal [free market-oriented] International for two years, spontaneously talks about the 1968 events on several occasions during the interview. "The current protest movement is still in a phase that we called contestation in 1968. But the protesters are not the only ones who are worried about the gulf between north and south." 
	
	
 Neyts noticed this while reading the local press in Kenya, where she has recently been on a holiday, and in Morocco. "All the country's problems are now often attributed to globalization, also country-specific problems such as corruption, for instance." 
	
	
 Neyts is convinced that gaining access to development is a much more complex phenomenon than is generally accepted. "It is reassuring to believe that the Tobin tax [on speculative capital movements] will stimulate development, but there is more to it. I think that the development debate does not focus enough on political development and political stability. How do you create political parties? How do you set up an efficient judicial system?" 
	
	
 Neyts is a resolute defender of world trade and the World Trade Organization (WTO). "Trade alone will not save the world," Neyts said, "but in as far as it refers to the free exchange of products and movement of persons, it constitutes an important factor for economic development." 
	
	
 "In the 1930's, the first reaction to the economic depression was to close all borders. The situation only got worse. Today, we opt for an international cooperation model. There is no alternative to it but conflict, isolation, nationalism, and ultimately war. International cooperation is slow and does not function optimally, but the alternatives are worse." 
	
	
 The WTO is accused of fostering trade anarchy. This implies that it would totally liberalize trade. The WTO seeks to do exactly the contrary. The WTO issues regulations and penalties in case these regulations are not observed. Moreover, the WTO is a young and small organization, and not a cold monster as some people are depicting it." 
	
	
 Neyts understands that developing countries may feel uneasy about the kind of trade negotiations that are conducted at WTO level. "And this is not only a feeling. Out of 140 members, not even 50 percent has a permanent delegation in Geneva. Those countries do not possess the necessary expertise to conduct such highly technical negotiations." 
	
	
 However, the WTO should not be loaded with all the world's sins. "There is not one developing country that wants to link social regulations to WTO regulations. They think that this is some sort of new protectionism by the West following the abolishment of tariff barriers (except for agriculture). That is not what it is all about." 
	
	
 Neyts rejects all forms of violence, but understands the protests. "Certain excesses at EU meetings and, above all, at 'summits,' the so-called 'high masses,' sometimes call for a reaction. There is an immense gulf between the hype surrounding a summit and its result, which is often worded in illegible conclusions. This is even worse in the case of G-8 meetings. Closing off a zone by means of containers, as was done in Genoa, is an act of objectionable brutality." 
	
	
 "Therefore, it is a positive development that all 'summits' will be held in Brussels as of 2003," Neyts said. "This will remove the hype surrounding them." 
	
	
 However, a clear answer that would silence all protests does not exist. "We are living in a politically highly sophisticated society. Following the closure of the Renault plant in Vilvoorde, we issued a law known as the Renault law. At the time, the brutality with which this closure was implemented was unheard of, but now we have legal instruments to avoid this." 
	
	
 "Unfortunately, Renault's Vilvoorde plant did effectively close down, "but this is a question of overcapacity in the automobile industry." According to Neyts, many initiatives to alleviate discontent have recently been taken. "The Belgian delegation to the WTO negotiations will include nongovernmental organizations. The WTO texts include passages about the need to heed civilian society and to pay attention to durable development." 
	
	
 "Actually, I do not know what else we can do. I think that the antiglobalists do not realize what has already been done. Their criticism that we obstruct agricultural products from the south is justified. But this can only change if we negotiate. To do this, regulations and a structure like the WTO are needed. Otherwise, what will happen is that existing trade blocks will grow stronger. The least developed countries will be left behind."