On the environment, as on agriculture, the EU has found itself isolated at the WTO talks in Doha, Qatar. But officials were confident last night that a substantial part of its agenda to link environmental standards to trade would be adopted in the final agreement.

The EU wants sustainable development elevated into a key WTO objective so that trade liberalisation must be managed in such a way that it is good for the environment. Most members are prepared to accept some reference to sustainable development but the final declaration is unlikely to go as far as the EU wishes.

A second demand is that multilateral environment agreements that have been met under the auspices of such organisations as the UN should be recognised by the WTO. These include agreements that protect endangered species and outlaw their export and import. The EU wants to clarify WTO rules to ensure European "eco-labelling" schemes are allowed. The US complains that labelling of goods such as genetically modified foods adds excessive costs to producers and can represent a form of protectionism.

The EU's most controversial demand is for the "precautionary principle" to be applied to trade issues. This means countries would be allowed to ban goods they view as carrying a possible health risk, even if that risk has not been proven.

Officials indicated last night the EU was preparing to sacrifice the precautionary principle in the hope of pushing through the rest of its agenda. Developing countries regard the EU's environment agenda as a disguised form of protectionism that would use environmental standards as an excuse to benefit European producers. For many European governments, it would be politically perilous to leave Doha without securing commitments on the environment.