INTRODUCTION

1.1 On 29 June 2007, the United States requested the establishment of a panel pursuant to Article 21.5 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) concerning the alleged inconsistency with the WTO agreements of measures adopted by the European Communities to comply with the rulings and recommendations of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in the dispute EC – Bananas III and subsequent related rulings. The request made by the United States followed a request made by Ecuador, on 23 February 2007, for the establishment of a panel pursuant to Article 21.5 of the DSU also concerning the alleged inconsistency of measures adopted by the European Communities to comply with the rulings and recommendations of the DSB in the EC – Bananas III dispute and subsequent related rulings.

1.2 On 6 July 2007, in a communication addressed to the compliance panel requested by Ecuador, the European Communities asked for a modification of the timetable in those proceedings, in order to take into account the timetable of the proceedings of the compliance panel that had been requested by the United States. The European Communities asked that the deadline for its first written submission to the compliance panel requested by Ecuador be postponed until after the United States had filed its own first written submission in the compliance panel proceedings initiated by the United States.