Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on 'Transparency and the participation of civil society organisations in the WTO Millennium Round'
Date: 1999-10-20
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: World Trade Organisation, administrative transparency, company constituted under civil law, non-governmental organisation, shareholding, social partners

20.12.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 368/43

With regard to Russia, improving the effectiveness of labour
markets and tripartite relations, requires strengthening the
special Tacis programme,
to Social Reform
Implementation and Labour Relations (social partnership and
labour disputes)’. With regard to the associated countries, the
Commission should meet its commitment, as expressed in the
communication on the adaptation and development of the
social dialogue to also support these countries. In addition, the

‘Support

Commission’s direct
(TAIEX unit) should be reinforced.

technical assistance and information

The Economic and Social Committee should be consulted
when the above-mentioned arrangements are being made. It is
also in a good position to participate in their implementation
and in making any necessary contacts.

Brussels, 20 October 1999.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on ‘Transparency and the participation of civil
society organisations in the WTO Millennium Round’

(1999/C 368/15)

On 27 May 1999 the Economic and Social Committee, acting under the third paragraph of rule 23 of its
rules of procedure, decided to draw up an opinion on ‘Transparency and the participation of civil society
organisations in the WTO Millennium Round.’

The Section for External Relations, which was responsible for preparing the Committee’s work on the
subject, adopted its opinion on 6 October 1999. The rapporteur was Mr van Dijk.

At its 367th plenary session (meeting of 20 October 1999), the Economic and Social Committee adopted
the following opinion by 103 votes to one with five abstentions.

1.

Involvement of socio-economic organisations

1.1.
The interest of NGOs and social partners in inter-
national trade has increased considerably in recent years (1).
This interest was already expressed in negotiations for the
GATT Uruguay Round. The involvement reached a peak in the
discussions on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment.
Above all, many NGOs complained of a lack of transparency
on the part of the negotiators with regard to the subjects under
discussion and the consequences of the forthcoming agreement
for the various countries and groupings. The feeling of mistrust
was increased in the course of
the negotiations by the
discouraging reaction of the government representatives. There
was also a feeling that only the industrialised countries
benefited from the agreements.

1.2.
The NGOs’ interest in international trade is now largely
tinged with suspicion. Many organisations have a sceptical
attitude towards the negotiations, and are afraid that the

(1) A distinction is made in this opinion between economic and

social interest groups and NGOs.

governments of the participating countries do not take suf-
ficient account of the interests represented by the socio-
economic organisations and groupings and those of
the
under-developed countries. This found its clearest expression
in the OECD negotiations on the MAI. Lack of information
and of possibilities to exercise influence appeared to be the
main causes for the NGOs’ suspicious attitude. In order to
avoid such a reaction in the coming WTO negotiations, the
ESC takes the view that the involvement of socio-economic
organisations must be organised as far as possible in an
optimum way. This opinion will deal mainly with the involve-
ment of socio-economic organisations in the process leading
to new agreements. The ESC will not express a view in this
opinion on the possibility for socio-economic organisations to
be involved also in the implementation of the agreements
reached.

1.3.
The ESC has a long tradition of taking an interest in
international trade. It has issued many opinions, including
own-initiative opinions, on the subject. In these it has always
endeavoured to stress the importance of this subject for social
and economic interest groups. The most recent ESC opinions
in this area are:

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— the global challenge of international trade (1);

2.

Involvement of socio-economic organisations with
the WTO

— Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) applying a multian-
nual scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period
1 January 1999 to 31 December 2001 (2);

— Proposal for a Council Decision concerning the conclusion
on behalf of the European Community, as regards matters
within its competence, of the results of the World Trade
Organisation negotiations on financial services (3);

— the World Trade Organisation (4).

1.4.
At the same time the ESC values the interest shown by
many NGOs in international trade. Many organisations are
now realising that international agreements in this field can
have far-reaching consequences.

1.4.1.
subjects, e.g. those listed in point 1.3.

The ESC has issued opinions on a number of these

The ESC regards the involvement of socio-economic
1.5.
organisations in WTO activities as very important. Any
agreements reached can have far-reaching effects for certain
sectors (e.g. the services sector), for the continuation of the
CAP, Community development policy (ACP), contacts with
non-Community countries and compliance with international
standards (labour, animal welfare and environment standards).
They also affect employment, consumer interests and incomes.

In all these areas many socio-economic organisations
1.6.
are active. Their involvement in the negotiations can help to
broaden the social bases for the agreements. In addition,
negotiators can make use of the expertise available in the
various organisations. Finally, governments can be made aware
of interest groups’ views on international trade. (5)

1.7.
The ESC intends in this opinion to indicate how the
involvement of socio-economic organisations in the WTO
negotiations can best be achieved. A distinction is made
between different levels. Chapter two deals with the world level.
How should the WTO secretariat ensure that socio-economic
organisations are sufficiently informed and consulted? Chap-
ter 3 deals with the national level. Decision-making within the
WTO must be on the basis of consensus. Therefore it is
important for economic and social interest groups and NGOs
that their lobbying of national governments should be well
organised. The EU, which has exclusive competence in relation
to international trade, is in a special situation. An important
task has, therefore, been assigned to the European level.
Chapter 4 deals with this in more detail.

(1) OJ C 56, 24.2.1997.
(2) OJ C 40, 15.2.1999
(3) OJ C 407, 28.12.1998
(4) OJ C 101, 12.4.1999.
(5) B. Reinalda, ‘NGO’s en andere particuliere actoren in de leer der
in Internationale Spectator, 53,

internationale betrekkingen’,
July/August 1999, 414-118.

As stated in point 1.6,

2.1.
the WTO secretariat will
have to be concerned mainly with the proper provision of
information to those economic and social interest groups and
NGOs operating at international level. The WTO must give
them adequate information. Transparency can eliminate and
prevent mistrust and suspicion.

2.2.
Information can be provided in two ways. The most
accessible way is to disseminate it through the Internet. The
WTO could place the information on its website. In addition,
interested organisations can be kept informed of latest develop-
ments through e-mail subscriptions. This is a rapid and
effective means of keeping every interested organisation up to
date on the latest development.

2.3.
The second way of providing information is the
organisation of meetings, in the course of which the secretariat
could give information on the latest stage reached in the
negotiations to interested organisations. The organisations
taking part can then give their initial reaction to the infor-
mation provided and possibly ask more detailed questions on
that information. There are advantages and disadvantages to
this approach. One advantage is the possibility for interaction:
through discussion a compromise can be reached or stand-
points can be brought closer together. One disadvantage is
financial: organisations must send people to Geneva to receive
information and express their views. In many cases these
organisations are not based in Geneva, so that travel costs may
constitute an obstacle to participation in meetings.

In order to ensure good relations between the WTO
2.4.
and the socio-economic organisations it is important for
mutual trust to develop. To that end there should be a
permanent flow of information between the two sides. In
addition,
this can contribute to a dialogue between the
various socio-economic organisations. In order to promote
this ongoing liaison, the WTO could consider setting up a
permanent platform for socio-economic organisations. This
should meet regularly, at least annually, and could provide
the secretariat with advice on the various subjects on the
(forthcoming) negotiating agenda and perhaps make practical
recommendations with regard to implementation.

The most difficult questions in setting up such a
2.5.
platform concern the costs (who will pay for it) and the
selection of participant organisations. It should not be too
difficult to find a solution to the first question. Participating
organisations must pay their own travel and subsistence costs.
The Committee realises that this approach will pose problems
for some organisations. It will for example make it more
difficult for organisations from less developed countries to
participate in meetings. In order to avoid a situation where
meetings are attended only by western organisations, space
should be reserved for organisations from less developed
countries in the process of accrediting participants.

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2.5.1.
The WTO secretariat must have sufficient capacity
available to prepare properly for meetings with socio-
economic organisations. This new approach will therefore
have a financial impact.

sations within the EU. Thus they will of course have to operate
at both national and European level. The following section
covers the latter level.

2.6.
The second question, namely which organisations will
take part in the platform, is much more difficult to answer. It
must be made clear that it is mainly international organisations
represented in all continents which can be members of such
a platform. Secondly,
it must be ascertained for which
organisations it can be relevant. They must be organisations
representing a specific interest group, which can reasonably be
expected to be affected by agreements reached in a WTO
context. The secretariat will need, in the first place, to draw up
a list of organisations which meet these two criteria. If there is
a large number of organisations, they will have to agree among
themselves on speaking rights to ensure that there is sufficient
time for discussion.

3.

Involvement of
national level

socio-economic organisations at

3.1.
Decisions in the WTO are taken by the government
representatives. There has to be a high degree of consensus on
these decisions. It can therefore be assumed that an effective
way for socio-economic organisations to set up a lobby is to
approach the governments of the participating countries.

3.2.
National socio-economic organisations must therefore
direct their lobbying mainly towards national governments.
Governments must give these organisations sufficient oppor-
tunity to express their opinions. Like the WTO they can set up
a platform to include various socio-economic organisations.
Their most important task could then be to give the govern-
ments advice on the various subjects on the agenda of the
WTO. It is important for governments to inform and consult
socio-economic organisations in good time.

3.2.1.
The national socio-economic consultative bodies
have a specific responsibility. In many cases they represent the
most important socio-economic interest groups. They can
make submissions to governments in preparation for WTO
meetings. The governments should be able to ask them for an
opinion. If no opinion is requested, they could always issue an
unsolicited opinion.

3.3.
Governments must approach the international nego-
tiations in a spirit of openness. They should therefore provide
as much information as possible via the Internet on progress
within the WTO.

4. Socio-economic organisations at European level and

the role of the ESC

4.1. Much of what has been stated above about
the
national level also applies to the European level. The European
Commission must provide a great deal of information through
its website on current developments within the WTO. In
addition regular information meetings must be held to which
economic and social interest groups and NGOs are invited.
The Committee could help organise these meetings.

4.2.
A special role is set aside for the Economic and Social
Committee. It is the European-level representative of economic
and social interest groups within the EU. It follows that the
European Commission will involve the ESC and consult it on
WTO matters, although the Treaty does not require it to do
this (1). The Commission is, however, required to consult
the ESC on international meetings concerning the services
sector (2).

4.3.
In recent years the ESC has issued many opinions on
this important subject. These showed that the ESC takes great
interest in the subject, and it has also stressed the importance
of WTO agreements for socio-economic policy within the EU.

As stated in point 1.4, international trade agreements
4.4.
have more consequences today for employment,
incomes,
consumers and the environment than ever before. Accordingly,
our societies’ sensitivities in this regard have grown consider-
ably.

The Committee therefore considers it vital to monitor
4.5.
negotiations on further liberalisation extremely closely, to take
note of the views of the relevant associations and NGOs on
the subject and, by submitting opinions at an early stage to
the Council, Parliament and Commission, to help in the
preparatory work for the EU’s negotiating position.

4.6.
The Committee therefore proposes setting up a unit
within the organisational structure of the ESC which would
enable it to make the most of its rich knowledge and experience
during the negotiation period.

This unit should comprise a nucleus of foreign trade experts
who would draw on experts from other sections depending on
the topic under negotiation.

It would be the task of this unit to cultivate close contacts
not only with the WTO and the appropriate Commission
departments, but also with the relevant European associations
and NGOs.

Given that

the EU has exclusive competence for
3.4.
international trade, the European level is of great importance
to EU countries. This also applies to socio-economic organi-

(1) See Article 133 of the EC Treaty.
(2) See Article 52 of the EC Treaty.

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4.7.
Building on the additional information acquired in this
way, this unit will, in good time prior to the negotiations,
submit opinions on individual negotiating issues deemed to be
of particular importance from a social policy angle. In so
doing, it will also draw on earlier ESC opinions.

In individual cases, it will be appropriate to hold prior

4.8.
hearings with interested parties.

In this connection,

4.9.
it is desirable that the relevant
Committee members be given the opportunity to attend the
critical stages of particularly important negotiations.

2. unilateral sanction methods and compensation rights;

3. electronic trade;

4.

the WTO and employment;

5. public purchasing contracts;

6.

the strengthening of the WTO;

7. agriculture;

8.

9.

services;

trade and development;

10. trade and environment;

11. trade and international labour standards;

4.10.
The Committee proposes that the WTO unit monitor
in particular the following issues in the light of the Seattle
plans:

12. competition;

13. investment;

14. intellectual property;

1.

the role of socio-economic organisations in the settlement
of disputes;

15. tariffs.

Brussels, 20 October 1999.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI