RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/C/M/91 
18 June 2008 
 (08-2878) 
Council for Trade in Services  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 16 JUNE 2008 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
  
1. On 16 June 2008, the Council for Trade in Services held a meeting chaired by 
Ambassador C. Trevor Clarke (Barbados).  The agenda for the meeting was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/3203.   
2. The representative of Australia
 said that, under "Other Busin ess", his delegation intended to 
raise the issue of the certification of the EC-25 schedule.   
3. The Chairman  indicated that, under "Other Business", th e Secretariat wished to make a short 
announcement regarding a technical note on scheduling. 
4. The agenda was adopted , as modified. 
I. NOTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO ARTICLES III:3 AND V:7 OF THE GATS 
5. The Chairperson  drew the Council's attention to notif ications received, pursuant to GATS 
Article III:3 (Transparency), from Albania (S/C /N/420 to S/C/N/438 and S/C/N/448 to S/C/N/451), 
Armenia (S/C/N/439 and S/C/N/447), Senegal (S/C/N /441) and Central African Republic (S/C/N/444 
to 446). 
6. The Council took note  of those notifications. 
7. The Chairperson  also indicated that notifications pursuant to GATS Article V:7 (Economic 
Integration) had been made by Pakistan a nd Malaysia (S/C/N/440), and Panama and Chile 
(S/C/N/442, S/C/N/442/Corr.1 and  S/C/N/443).  He also drew Members' attention to two more 
notifications made pursuant to GATS Article V, wh ich had not been listed in the airgram.  These 
notifications had been submitted in December 2007 by, respectively, China and Hong Kong, China 
(S/C/N/264/Add.1), and China and Macao, China (S/C/N/265/Add.1).  They were addenda to 
previous RTA notifications which had been su bmitted to the Council for Trade in Services and 
referred to the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements for examination.  Copies of these two 
addenda notifications were made available at the document desk outside the room. 
8. The Council took note  of the notifications, and referred  the agreements notified to the 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements for examination. 
II. OTHER BUSINESS 
9. The Chairperson  opened the floor on the issue raised by the delegation of Australia under 
"Other Business". 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. S/C/M/91 
Page 2  
 
  10. The representative of Australia
 said that his delegation remained concerned about the lack of 
clarity concerning the entry into force of the EC- 25 schedule that resulted from the negotiations on so-
called S/SECRET/8 and S/SECRET/9.  Australia believe d this was contrary to the clear reading of 
S/L/80 and S/L/84.  He asked the Commission to provid e an update on the expecta tions in this regard.  
Noting that the problem seemed to be at the level of member states' internal processes, he  enquired 
which member states had not ratified the new schedule. 
11. The representative of the European Communities  said that, as had been indicated in the 
notification document as well as in the respective ag reements with the affected WTO Members, the 
consolidated schedule should enter into force fo llowing the internal decision-making procedures of 
the European Communities and its Member States, wh ere appropriate.  Following the signature of the 
relevant agreements with the affected WTO Me mbers and the completion of the WTO certification 
procedure in December 2006, the European Commiss ion had formally proposed the conclusion of the 
agreements to the EC Council, by means of a proposal for a Council decision.  Subsequently, by amending the original proposal of the Commission, the EC Council had decided to require the national ratification of the relevant  agreements by the EC member states, and had also called for the 
consultation of the European Parliament.  The en try into force of the new schedule was now fully 
dependent on the outcome of these proceedings.  For the time being, eight member states (Austria, Germany, Malta, The Netherlands, Greece, Hungary, Spain and Sweden) had concluded their national 
procedures.  Once the internal procedures had been  completed, the EC would notify to the WTO the 
entry into force of the new schedule. 
12. The representative of Australia
 thanked the representative of the European Communities for 
the information provided and encouraged the me mber states which had not yet completed their 
domestic ratification procedure to do it as soon as po ssible.  Having now gone through the process of 
a GATS Article XXI negotiation and seen the problems arising from an unspecified date of entry into 
force, Australia intended to require a date of en try into force as part of the final agreement on 
compensation in the S/SECRET/11 negotiations. 
13. The Council took note  of the statements made. 
14. A representative of the Secretariat  said that, in the context of its technical cooperation 
activities, the Secretariat had noted that a set of quest ions arose frequently in relation to scheduling.  It 
had concluded that it might be useful to prepare a note briefly recalling the types of measures which 
should be scheduled.  This note ("How to set up schedules of specific commitments – "Scheduling tips") was meant to assist officials in capitals.  It  was also directed towa rds officials of acceding 
countries, hence the section on MFN exemptions.  The Secretariat intended to circulate this document 
electronically to delegations.  He stressed that it was a very informal document which had no legal 
status and did not mean to interpret the GATS.  No r was it a substitute for a reading of the GATS, the 
Scheduling Guidelines (S/L/92) a nd other relevant documents.   
15. The Council took note
 of this statement. 
III. APPOINTMENT OF THE NEW CHAIRPERSON 
16. The Chairperson  said that, based on the consensus reach ed in the General Council, he was 
pleased to pass on the chairmanship of the C ouncil to Ambassador Alex Van Meeuwen, from 
Belgium.  He was confident that with his expe rience and wisdom, Ambassador Van Meeuwen would 
guide the future work of the Council skilfully and efficiently.  As the outgoing chairperson of the Council, he had enjoyed working with all Memb ers and had appreciated their cooperative and 
constructive spirit in fulfilling the mandate of the Coun cil.  He also thanked the outgoing chairs of the 
subsidiary bodies, as well as the Secretariat for th eir co-operation and effort s in supporting his work.   S/C/M/91 
 Page 3 
 
 
  He proposed that the Council elect Ambassador Van Meeuwen by acclamation as the new 
Chairperson of the Council for Trade in Services.   
17. The Council elected  Ambassador Van Meeuwen by acclamation. 
18. The Chairperson  thanked the outgoing chairperson for his kind words, his support and 
confidence.  He said that he had been in Geneva  about 15 years ago, before Marrakesh, which had 
taught him to remain positive:  a way through was po ssible.  He was sure that with delegations' 
cooperation and the assistance of the Secretariat, he w ould be able to ensure continuity and maintain 
the high level of efficiency of this Council. 
19. The meeting was adjourned . 
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