Several also reiterated their particular concerns in a range of topics being negotiated in the Doha Round. Some welcomed a proposal from a group of countries aimed at making progress in negotiations on trade in environmental goods and some described other efforts they are making to move the talks forward on a wide range of topics.

Some said that the mixture (or “cocktail”) of different types of meetings is working well in creating a constructive atmosphere among delegations, but not so well in producing movement towards agreement on substance. Some acknowledged that the burden is on their own shoulders.

“We do not have a problem of process,” one ambassador said. “We have a problem of substance.”

However, a few remained worried that deals struck in smaller groups might be imposed on them and upset the balance of what has been achieved so far, or give a lower priority to issues that concern them partiuclarly. Smaller delegations also called for the intensifying schedule of meetings to take into account their limited resources and difficulty in covering several subjects at the same time.

Mr Lamy chairs the Trade Negotiations Committee, which oversees the detailed talks in the many subjects. The negotiations currently aim to produce new or revised draft texts in a range of subjects by Easter , to agree on these and some other legal drafts by June or July and to conclude the round by the end of the year. This year, Easter is on 24 April, and the last working day before the long weekend is 21 April.

He urged the ambassadors not to fool themselves. Some give-and-take is happening but it is too timid and too slow to meet the target of new or revised texts by Easter, he said. Mr Lamy called for more substantive inputs from negotiators.

He said the texts are needed for the negotiations to move to a conclusion, and for transparency so all delegations know what is on the table and can negotiate on an equal footing — including delegations not in some of the small group consultations.

One ambassador added that texts are also needed to make the negotiations credible.

Several delegations echoed the tributes Mr Lamy paid to former Deputy Director-General Warren Lavorel, who died on 27 February.