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Representatives from the European Commission (EC) and the member states of the European Union (EU) agreed in Brussels Wednesday to find a solution to the issue of stockpiled textile imports from China.

The representatives held an urgent meeting on Wednesday morning before an EU delegation left for China to seek a solution.

At the meeting, delegates "expressed clear and general agreement on the urgency of the situation" regarding blocked textile imports from China, and they also voiced agreement on the need for a quick resolution, said a press release issued by the EC.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who did not attend the meeting, afterwards said that he was delighted by the fact that EU member states "have recognized the urgency of removing what is a serious glitch in the implementation of the Shanghai Agreement."

"We now need a pragmatic solution that deals with the immediate overshoot and, with good will on all sides, we can do this," he added.

The commissioner also defended the Shanghai Agreement that was reached between the EU and China in June. "The Agreement stands. It addresses, with the Chinese, a temporary, short-term need to respond to the extreme public fears and political pressures that built up over the Chinese textiles exports engulfing European markets and displacing goods from other developing countries," he said.

Mandelson also accused retailers of pressuring lawmakers, saying that the agreement was prepared "over months not days" and "everyone went into it with their eyes wide open."

"Although there was never going to be a problem-free way of dealing with the issue, the Commission has taken a reasonable, balanced line and we will stick to it," he added.