RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/M/52  
 
16 July 2013  
(13-3818)  Page: 1/7  
Committee on Government Procurement    
 
MINUTES OF THE FORMAL MEETING OF 27 JUNE 2013 
CHAIRMAN: MR BRUCE CHRISTIE (CANADA) 
The representative of the Secretariat1 said that, following past procedures and with the 
understanding of the Committee, he would chair the proceedings until the Committee elected its 
Chairperson, as foreseen, under the first item of business for the day. 
In preparation for the meeting, delegations had received an Airgram2, in addition to a background 
fax dated 19 June 2013. 
As set out in the Airgram, and following the usual procedures, it was proposed that the meeting 
address the following items: 
1. Extension of the Chairman's term of office until the end of 2013; 
2. Request for observer status: the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;  
3. Decision regarding the proposed modifications of the European Union (EU) to integrate 
Croatia into the EU's coverage commitments under the Agreement on Government 
Procurement; and 
4. Other business, if any. 
No items were proposed by delegations under the heading of "Other business". 
The Committee adopted the agenda, as proposed. 
1  EXTENSION OF THE CHAIRMAN'S TERM OF OFFICE UNTIL THE END OF 2013 1.1.  The Committee agreed to extend Mr Christie's  term of office as Chairman until the end of 
2013. 
1.2.  The Chairman expressed his appreciation to delegations for the trust that they had reposed in 
him in extending his term of office through the end of the year. It was an honour to serve as Chair 
of the GPA Committee, administering an Agreement which was becoming progressively more 
important, both within the WTO and as an underpinning of the global economy, over time. 
1.3.  As mentioned when he was elected Chair in February, he believed that this year could be a 
year of very significant progress for the Committe e on matters that were important to all GPA 
Parties. To that end, he reiterated his firm commi tment to the set of goals that he had shared with 
delegation at that time: 
 First, he had asked that all Parties continue striving to provide their acceptances and 
bring the revised Agreement into force in a time ly fashion, with the strong hope that this 
could be recognized in a Ministerial-level meeting of the Committee on the margins of 
the Ninth Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali at the end of the year. Further to this 
                                               
1 Mr Anderson. 
2 WTO/AIR/4147 of 14 June 2013. GPA/M/52 
 
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  proposal, he reminded Parties: (a) of their Mini sters' pledge, at the po litical conclusion of 
the renegotiation in December 2011, to seek prompt acceptance of the Agreement in their respective jurisdictions; (b) of the opportunity to make a critically important contribution to the success of the coming Mi nisterial; and (c), of the necessity of 
bringing the revision into effect in order to reap the benefits of Parties' work on the 
renegotiation over many years, both in terms of enhanced market access opportunities for the current Parties and, very importantly, in facilitating the accession of new GPA 
Parties. 
 Further to the latter point, he noted that the various accessions to the Agreement that 
were currently the subject of ongoing work were  all premised on the coming into force of 
the revised Agreement. And, bringing the revised Agreement into effect would be an 
important demonstration of the Parties' continuing seriousness in wanting to enlarge the 
Agreement's membership. From this standpoint, there was not a moment to lose in bringing the revised Agreement into effect. He asked delegations to encourage their 
capital-based officials to strive to meet that objective. He also requested that, if any 
delegation anticipated difficulty in providing its acceptance before the Ministerial, that delegation so inform him. If necessary, he was available to assist in any way he could as 
Chairman of the Committee, for example by getting in touch with capital-based senior 
officials to try to urge them along. He had, indeed, already written to one delegation's relevant Minister, on the request of its Geneva representatives. 
 As a second goal for the year, Parties should continue striving for significant progress - 
even, in at least one or two cases, conclusion - of work on pending accessions to the 
Agreement, also in time to be celebrated at Bali. He continued to believe that this was realistic, based on the discussions that had already been held earlier in the year and the 
interest that at least one acceding Party had manifested in timely conclusion of the work 
on its accession. Furthermore, it was not out of the question that another delegation would come forward in the weeks following the meeting with an application for accession 
and a request for priority attention in this regard. 
 Third, the Committee should continue trying hard to conclude the work on the draft 
decisions on arbitration procedures and indicative criteria, if possible also in time for the 
Ministerial. And fourth, he asked that the Secretariat continue progressing, in 
consultation with the Committee, the work that it had initiated on creating a more integrated and interactive GPA web portal (the so-called e-GPA project). 
1.4.  Continuing, the Chairman said that he was aware that these goals were ambitious, but he 
believed that they were achievable and well worth the required effort. As in February, he asked 
that delegations spare no effort to achieve them in the remaining five months or so that were left before the Ministerial. In the coming months, he would continue to remind delegations of the goals 
the Committee had set. 
1.5.  The representatives of Canada, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, 
Montenegro, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Chin ese Taipei, and the United States congratulated 
the Chairman for the extension of his term of office. 
1.6.  Continuing, the representative of Switzerland thanked the Chairman for his availability to 
continue to serve as Chairman of the Committee in a time that was essential for the future of the 
GPA. He congratulated the Chairman for the excellent work done so far and wished him all success 
for the future. Switzerland would support the Chairman in all his efforts. 
1.7.  The representative of the United States expressed the United States' appreciation for the 
work the Chairman had done so far, as well as it s support for the extension of his term of office. 
1.8.  The representative of Chinese Taipei said that her delegation was looking forward to working 
constructively with the Chairman and the entire Committee for the remainder of the year and, in 
the future. 
1.9.  The representative of Montenegro said that  her delegation looked forward to a constructive 
partnership with the Committee, under the Chairman's leadership. GPA/M/52 
 
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  2  REQUEST FOR OBSERVER STATUS: THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA 
2.1.  The Chairman noted that the former Yugosl av Republic of Macedonia's request for observer 
status had been circulated on 5 June 2013.3 
2.2.  The Committee accepted the request for observer status from the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia. 2.3.  The Chairman extended a warm welcome to th e former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in its 
new capacity as an Observer to the GPA. 
2.4.  The representative of the former Yugoslav  Republic of Macedonia thanked the Committee for 
its decision to approve its request for observer status in the Committee. Since its accession to the 
World Trade Organisation in 2003, the former Yu goslav Republic of Macedonia had pursued an 
open and transparent trade regime that was fully compatible with WTO rules. The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia was strongly committed to having an open economy so as to overcome the 
disadvantage of being a small market and to create  an institutional environment that would enable 
inclusion into the world market. The implementati on of a sound government procurement system 
was therefore considered as essential in helping to promote competitiveness and create a positive 
business climate in the country. 
2.5.  In the past months, the government procurem ent system in the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia had undergone significant reforms in orde r to ensure the conformity of the system with 
European Union legislation and best practices. In that context, the government had pursued 
various initiatives and activities to create a transparent procurement system and to open it up more broadly to foreign suppliers. These reforms were focused on creating a sound legal 
framework and building capacity. 
2.6.  Consistent with European Union requirements, the Parliament of the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia had approved a new public procurement law in 2007, which covered both 
national and local government procurement. The government had established an Independent 
Appeals Commission and an Independent Public Procurement Bureau under the Ministry of Finance. It functioned as a central government authority without branch offices, monitored the 
implementation of the legislation and provided gu idelines for improving the system. The range of 
activities included in the scope of public procurement was listed in the law. The authorities had issued a detailed handbook explaining the law an d had further developed an e-public procurement 
system, which was widely used and enabled secure trade between the contracting authorities and 
local and international operators. 
2.7.  In the context of these reforms, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia considered it as a 
step forward to initially become an Observer to the GPA Committee. This status would provide an 
opportunity for the country to observe the develo pments and trends in the Committee and thereby 
acknowledge more properly the plurilateral framework on government procurement. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia looked forward to following the Committee's work more closely, 
being aware of the fact that the Committee dealt with complex and important matters. Again, the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia highly a ppreciated the Committee's decision to approve its 
request for observer status in the Committee. 
2.8.  The Chairman thanked the delegation of th e former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for its 
encouraging statement, expressed his and the Committee's readiness to assist it in any way 
needed, and encouraged the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to share the documentation on its procurement system mentioned with the Committee in order to facilitate better 
understanding of it by Parties as well as the discussions on a possible future accession of the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 
2.9.  The representatives of Canada; the Europe an Union; Hong Kong,China; Japan; Montenegro; 
Norway; Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; and the United States warmly welcomed the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as an  Observer to the Committee. The respective 
                                               
3 GPA/W/323 of 5 June 2013. GPA/M/52 
 
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  delegations looked forward to working with the fo rmer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and hoped 
that it would initiate its accession process in the near future. 
2.10.  Continuing, the representative of the United  States noted that the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia had undertaken a commitment to join the GPA as part of its WTO accession 
commitments. This commitment had been outstanding since 2003. The United States would 
therefore appreciate any indication from the former  Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as to when it 
intended to initiate its accession to the GPA. 
2.11.  The representative of Singapore said that  Singapore was glad to see the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia becoming an active memb er of the global trading system and looked 
forward to working with it as well as to eventually welcoming it as Party to the Committee. Singapore also appreciated the efforts of the Chairman and the Secretariat in this regard. 
2.12.  The representative of Chinese Taipei joined other delegations in encouraging the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to initiate its accession process to the GPA as soon as possible. 
2.13.  The representative of Hong Kong, China said that his delegation would work closely with the 
delegation of the former Yugoslav Republic of  Macedonia and looked forward to its eventual 
accession to the GPA. 
2.14.  The representative of Montenegro said that Montenegro, having only recently become an 
Observer to the Committee itself, and having begun work toward its accession by holding a very 
successful seminar in co-operation with the WTO Secretariat in Podgorica in early June, looked forward to joining its efforts with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. She again welcomed the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as an Observer to the Committee and thanked GPA 
Parties for the support offered to Observers generally. 
2.15.  The representative of the former Yugoslav  Republic of Macedonia thanked all delegations 
and the Chairman for the warm welcome that it had received. The former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia was making all efforts to initiate its a ccession to the GPA and looked forward to working 
closely with the Committee and Parties on achieving full membership in the Committee and becoming a Party to the GPA. 
2.16.  In concluding, the Chairman reiterated, on  behalf of the entire Committee, how delighted 
the Parties were to welcome the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the Committee as an 
Observer. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's GPA accession commitment had been outstanding since 2003 and GPA Parties stood ready to assist it in accelerating its efforts to initiate 
accession and eventually becoming a Party to the GPA in a timely manner. The WTO Secretariat 
was also available to answer any questions it may have with regard to the Agreement and could provide a national technical assistance seminar to meet with relevant officials, provide information 
on the Agreement and assist in a future accession process if this would be useful and timely. The 
Committee looked forward to working with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the coming months. 
3  DECISION REGARDING THE PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 
(EU) TO INTEGRATE CROATIA INTO THE EU'S COVERAGE COMMITMENTS UNDER THE 
AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 
3.1.  The Chairman said that, as the Committee ha d been informed by the representative of the 
European Union during the informal sessions on Wednesday, 29 May, Croatia would become a 
member State of the European Union on 1 July 20 13. The European Union had indicated, at that 
time, that it wished to follow the same procedure regarding inclusion of Croatia in its Appendices I-
IV as was done in 2006 regarding the inclusion of Romania and the Republic of Bulgaria when they 
acceded to the European Union and in 2004 regarding the ten WTO Members that joined the European Union that year. Furthermore, both the European Union and various other Parties had 
expressed a strong preference that the inclusion of Croatia be resolved before Croatia's status as a 
European Union member State took effect (i.e., before 1 July 2013). The proposed modifications of GPA/M/52 
 
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  the European Union to integrate Croatia into its GPA coverage commitments had been circulated in 
this context.4 
3.2.  Further to the above, a draft decision by the Committee on the proposed modifications of the 
European Union had been circulated on 19 June 2013.5 The draft decision approved the 
modifications that had been proposed by the European Union with an addition which was 
considered necessary. It also included a "Stateme nt by the European Union clarifying the content 
of the proposed modifications in GPA/MOD/ EEC/25 and GPA/MOD/EEC/25/Add.1", to which 
delegations' attention had been drawn. The Chai rman was also aware that, subsequently, some 
delegations had posed questions or raised potent ial concerns with the European Union, and the 
European Union had done its best to respond. 
3.3.  The Committee adopted the Decision pursuant to Article XXIV:6(a) of the Agreement on 
Government Procurement.6 
3.4.  The representative of the European Un ion thanked other GPA Parties for adopting the 
decision and for the constructive spirit in which they had worked with the European Union in order 
to achieve this positive result, allowing the integration of the European Union's newest member 
State into the GPA as of 1 July 2013. She also thanked the Chairman and the WTO Secretariat for 
their hard work and their help in preparing and facilitating the adoption of this decision. The 
European Union would welcome Croatia as a Member State of the European Union as of 
1 July 2013 and was pleased with the fact that Croa tia would be bound by the GPA as part of the 
European Union as of that date as well. 
3.5.  As had been noted by the Chairman, a st atement by the European Union clarifying the 
content of the proposed modifications contained in notifications GPA/MOD/EEC/25 and 
GPA/MOD/EEC/25/Add.1 had been incorporated by reference in the adopted decision and the European Union delegation had provided Parties wi th additional clarifications upon request on a 
bilateral basis. 
3.6.  The European Union was happy to note that  the decision adopted in the meeting, and the 
enlargement of the European Union in general, wo uld extend the coverage of the Agreement to a 
new WTO member and result in an expansion of procurement opportunities under the GPA. The 
European Union looked forward to continue working with the GPA Parties in its new and enlarged capacity. 
3.7.  The representative of Croatia noted that on 1 July 2013, Croatia would take the historic step 
of joining the European Union with the vision of a unified Europe which stood for peace and 
stability, democracy, solidarity, freedom and prog ress. She expressed Croatia's satisfaction with 
the fact that this historic day, Croatia would also join the GPA as a part of the European Union. 
She thanked the European Union as well as the Chairman and the WTO Secretariat for the help 
offered in facilitating the procedures permitting Croatia to become part of the GPA, the main international agreement related to public procur ement. As a Member of the European Union, 
Croatia would apply its rules and promote its values. 
3.8.  The representative of Canada said that Canada supported the adoption of the decision. He 
warmly welcomed the completion of Croatia's accession to the European Union and the 
corresponding expansion of the European Union' s commitments under the GPA. He thanked the 
European Union for the careful consideration given to the Parties' questions and concerns in the 
process relating to the modifications of its Annex I Appendices to the GPA. Canada understood that the accession of a new Member State was a complex process and that the European Union had 
made sincere efforts to ensure that the Committee could adopt the decision prior to Croatia 
membership of the European Un ion would enter into effect. 
3.9.  Continuing, he nonetheless expressed Canada's concern about the review period that Parties 
had been granted. The 1994 GPA provided that modi fications of a purely formal or minor nature 
shall become effective, provided there was no objection, within 30 days of the proposal, and therefore suggested that Parties had 30 days in whic h they could notify an objection. In this case, 
                                               
4 GPA/MOD/EEC/25 of 6 June 2013 and GPA/MOD/EEC/25/Add.1 of 10 June 2013. 
5 Job No. 4895 of 19 June 2013. 
6 GPA/118 of 27 June 2013. GPA/M/52 
 
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  the European Union's modification was not to purely formal or minor nature, it was in fact an 
accession by way of modification. While this accession was warmly welcomed by Canada, it would have been reasonable to assume that Parties would be granted longer than 30 days before taking the decision and approving the modifications.  
3.10.  However, given that the European Union's proposed modifications had only been circulated 
on 6 June 2013, Parties had been denied the full  review period to reflect on the proposed 
modifications. In any case, the revised GPA would resolve this question related to appropriate 
timeframe for modifications and Ca nada hoped that, in future, the European Union as well as other 
GPA Parties would adhere to established timeframes and provide all Parties with the adequate review period for proposed modifications. Fortunately, in this case, the European Union had expeditiously responded to Canada's concerns and requests for clarification. Canada was therefore 
able to confirm its acceptance of the draft deci sion within this shortened time frame in this 
instance. 
3.11.  The representative of the United States said that the United States was pleased to support 
the decision and warmly welcomed Croatia's participation in the GPA as a European Union member 
State. The United States echoed Canada's comments on the process and form in which the decision had been taken. He thanked the European Union for being responsive to the United States 
questions on the proposed modifications. However, it was worth noting that, as Canada had 
pointed out, Article XXVI:4(a) of the GPA provided Parties with 30 days in which objections could be raised. While the United States had been able to work with the European Union to make sure 
that the United States did not have any object ions, it was important that, in future, Parties 
respected the review periods provided under the Agreement. The United States also looked 
forward to receiving and reviewing the European Union's proposed modifications regarding the addition of Croatia to its schedules under the revised GPA, following the latter's entry into force. 
3.12.  The representative of Japan welcomed Croatia to the GPA. Nonetheless, Japan wished to 
emphasise that its standpoint regarding the proces s and form in which the modifications had been 
undertaken was similar to that of Canada and the United States. Japan understood that the 
European Union had expected GPA Parties to approve the decision to ensure its entry into effect on 
1 July 2013. Had this not the possible, Croatia would have been outside of the scope of application of the GPA despite the European Union's obligations in this regard. The situation could have become systemically undesirable. In order to avoid such situations in the future, for the next 
expansion of the European Union, Japan requeste d the European Union to notify the necessary 
modifications well in advance, respecting an y time periods for review provided under the 
Agreement. 
3.13.  The representative of Singapore welcomed Croatia to the GPA as well as its formal 
integration into the European Union on 1 July 2013. Its undertaking obligations under the GPA 
showed the European Union's commitment to expa nding market access under the Agreement. In 
view of this important occasion, Singapore had gladly worked with the European Union, 
notwithstanding the timeline GPA Parties had been facing. Given the importance of modifications, 
Singapore trusted that for future modifications, Parties would be given the requisite time to process such matters in coordination with capitals. Singapore had raised some questions and 
appreciated the European Union's responses to them. Singapore welcomed the expansion of the 
European Union's coverage commitments and was pleased with the decision taken. 
3.14.  The representative of Norway thanked the European Union for the response it had received 
regarding the consequences of Croatia's European  Union membership and noted that Norway was 
very pleased with the enlargement and the level of coverage provided in this regard by the 
European Union under the GPA. 
3.15.  The representative of Switzerland said that Switzerland was very happy to see Croatia's 
integration into the European market proceeding smoothly. He noted with satisfaction that 
Croatia's government procurement market was now covered by the GPA. The expansion of coverage under the GPA was an important objective of Switzerland and this was a good example of 
successful achievement of that objective. He thanked the European Union and Croatia for all the 
efforts undertaken in strengthening and updating the government procurement legislation in Croatia. This was an important aspect of government procurement and would allow all GPA Parties 
to compete effectively in this market. GPA/M/52 
 
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  3.16.  The representative of Liechtenstein welcomed the accession of Croatia and related 
expansion of the European Union's commitments under the GPA. 
3.17.  The representative of Chinese Taipei welcom ed the integration of Croatia into the European 
Union's market and expressed Chinese Taipei's support for the decision taken by the Committee. 
Chinese Taipei also looked forward to the expansion of the European Union's offer under the 
revised GPA. 
3.18.  The Chairman noted the concern expressed by Parties regarding future respect of review 
periods with regard to modifications. The fact that an additional WTO Member would be covered by 
the GPA was a very positive development and the Committee looked forward to working with Croatia as part of the European Union in the future. 
3.19.  The Committee took note of the comments made by Parties. 
4  OTHER BUSINESS 4.1.  There were no items raised under "Other Business". 4.2.  In concluding, the Chairman said that the next informal plurilateral sessions of the 
Committee would take place on Wednesday,  9 October 2013. Monday, 7 October and 
Tuesday, 8 October would be set aside for bilateral meetings . He expected that, by that 
time, a good number of delegations would already have submitted their acceptances of the revised 
Agreement, or would be on the verge of doing so. He  also asked all delegations to be in a position, 
at that meeting, to indicate when they expected  to submit their acceptances, and the steps they 
were taking to insure that this happens as soon as possible. His preference was for Parties not to 
wait until the very last moment for the submission of their instruments of acceptance, so that any 
uncertainty as to whether the entry into force would be celebrated on the margins of the Bali 
Ministerial conference could be avoided. In additi on, he expected significant progress to be made 
during the next meeting week on the other goals that he had mentioned, including accessions to 
the Agreement; the work on Arbitration Procedures  and Indicative Criteria; and the e-GPA Project. 
 
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