The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development quotes Pascal Lamy as describing “green room” meetings that will happen tomorrow.

I thought that such a procedure was no longer used. T.N. Srinivasan implied so:

[T]he “Green Room” process no longer exists! The last time it was used was at the Seattle Ministerial. At Doha, the chairman structured the discussion around six topics with a “friend of the chair” leading informal discussions on each, with all delegations welcome to participate. The “friend” reported regularly to the full heads of the delegation. At Cancun, the chairman appointed five “facilitators” who played the same role as the “friends” played at Doha. [PDF]

But Martin Khor worries that the green room will cause trouble in Geneva:

Questions still abound as to whether Ministers who come to Geneva can attend the “Ministerial Green Room” that will be convened by Pascal Lamy, presumably in his capacity as Chair of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC). Or whether, as expected, the Green Room will accommodate Ministers from only invited members.

The issues of transparency, participation and legitimacy can be expected to arise yet again, as uncertainty swirls around as to who is invited to the Green Room, on what criteria or basis, and on whose invitation. [TWN]

And the WTO itself that the green room plays a critical role in negotiations:

One term has become controversial, but more among some outside observers than among delegations. The “Green Room” is a phrase taken from the informal name of the director-general’s conference room. It is used to refer to meetings of 20-40 delegations. These meetings can be called by a committee chairperson as well as the director-general, and can take place elsewhere, such as at Ministerial Conferences. In the past delegations have sometimes felt that Green Room meetings could lead to compromises being struck behind their backs. So, extra efforts are made to ensure that the process is handled correctly, with regular reports back to the full membership. In the end, decisions have to be taken by all members and by consensus. No one has been able to find an alternative way of achieving consensus on difficult issues, because it is virtually impossible for members to change their positions voluntarily in meetings of the full membership. [WTO]

So it seems that there is still a green room, and that its merits are up for debate.