Whilst the common commercial policy is recognized, as I just said, as one of Europe's most important achievements,
efforts have to be pursued to broaden f
urther our external economic relations and to bring about a mor
e coherent European presence in international affairs, essential to the promotion and defence of our interests, - a second objective is to contribute to the preservation and strengthening of the open multilateral trading system, in other words to the maintenan
...[+++]ce of free trade, in which, as the world's largest trading entity, the Community has a vital interest".