WRITTEN QUESTION E-3130/02 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. WTO negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services.
Date: 2002-11-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Albania, Chile, Croatia, EFTA countries, GATS, GCC countries, Iran, Mercosur countries, Mexico, North Macedonia, South Africa, Union for the Mediterranean, association agreement (EU), common commercial policy, liberalisation of trade, trade agreement

15.1.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 11 E/27

In its Strategy Paper adopted on 9 October 2002, the Commission recommended that the European Union
should enhance its support for Turkey’s pre-accession preparation,
in view of the next stage of its
candidature. As mentioned in the conclusions of the Brussels European Council on 25 October 2002, a
decision on the next stage of Turkey’s candidature will be taken at the European Council in Copenhagen in
December 2002.

The Commission is not aware of any measures taken since the publication of the Regular Report that
would affect the problem referred to by the Honourable Member.

(1) COM(2002) 700 final.

(2004/C 11 E/028)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3130/02

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(4 November 2002)

Subject: WTO negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services

The Commission is at present engaged in negotiations within the World Trade Organisation on a General
Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), following on from the conclusions of the WTO ministerial
meeting in Doha.

In this context, can the Commission answer the following questions:

1. What is the current state of play and what in the Commission’s opinion are the prospects for the
negotiations, especially as regards the aims to be achieved? What proposals to liberalise services has
the Commission submitted to non-member countries, and what proposals have the latter submitted to
the Union Member States?

2. Can the Commission give details (preferably classified according to sectors of activity) of the current
position regarding the bi- or multilateral service liberalisation agreements already signed or being
negotiated with non-member countries?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(7 January 2003)

1.
The Declaration adopted by Ministers at Doha calls as far as services is concerned for the submission
of initial requests for specific commitments from other members by 30 June 2002 and for the presentation
of initial offers to other Members by 31 March 2003. In accordance with this mandate the Community
and its Member States submitted in early July 2002 initial requests to 109 other World Trade Organisation
(WTO) Members. In return, the European Union (EU) has up to now received 22 initial requests from third
countries (14 from developing countries and emerging economies) seeking further access to the
Community services market. Other countries are at this point in time in various stages of preparing their
initial requests and further requests are therefore expected to be submitted in the months to come.

The Commission, together with the Member States is still
in the process of analysing the incoming
requests. The Commission has published a comprehensive consultative document on the incoming
requests with a view to seeking public input on how EU might respond to these in its initial offer. In the
offer Members will inform trading partners of the improvements they are prepared to make in terms of
market access and non-discriminatory treatment.

As far as multilateral talks on services are concerned the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS),
concluded during the Uruguay Round, and the services negotiations currently being pursued under the
Doha Development Agenda cover a whole range of service sectors. As the world’s leading exporter of
services, the Union has a strong interest in further opening world markets to trade in services. For further
details on the Community’s requests the Honourable Member is referred to the Commission’s answer to
Written Question P-2621/02 by Mr Turco (1) and to the summary of the requests published on the
Directorate General (DG) Trade’s website (http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/).

C 11 E/28

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.1.2004

The Community has already signed a number of plurilateral or bilateral agreements with a large
2.
number of countries covering inter alia services, including the Agreement on the European Economic Area
(with Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland),
the so-called Europe Agreements with the 11 candidate
countries, Stabilisation and Association Agreements with Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
(FYROM) and Croatia, and agreements with Mexico and Chile (this latter officially signed on 18 November
2002). It should be noted that the agreement with Mexico calls for the parties to review steps towards
further liberalisation before February 2004.

These agreements are not sector-specific, but essentially cover the same range of sectors as the GATS
(except for audio-visual services) in order to meet the requirements of Article V GATS, which requires
regional trade agreements to have substantial sectoral coverage, to cover all modes of delivering services
and to provide for the absence or elimination of substantially all discrimination.

In addition, the Community is currently in the process of negotiating Free Trade Agreements with the
Mercosur, the Golf Co-operation Council (GCC), Switzerland and Turkey.

Negotiations between the Union and Mercosur (comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay)
began in June 2000 and aims at establishing a bi-regional trade and co-operation agreement. The trade
component includes liberalisation of trade in goods and services between the Union and Mercosur in
conformity with WTO rules for free-trade areas.

The 1989 Community-GCC Cooperation Agreement contained a commitment from both sides to enter
into negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The Free Trade Agreement negotiations were initiated
in 1990, but soon reached a standstill. In order to re-invigorate and conclude the pending negotiations the
Commission prepared a completely new negotiating mandate which was adapted to include services and
other areas included in more recent FTA’s. The Council approved the new mandate in July 2001. After the
approval of the new mandate the negotiations were resumed in March 2002 and are now underway.

Pursuant to a joint declaration adopted in 1999, the Community opened negotiations with Switzerland in
July 2002 with a view to concluding a Free Trade Agreement on Services. The Commission’s negotiating
mandate provides for an agreement with broad sectoral scope and based on full extension of Community
acquis to Switzerland including relevant flanking policies. The parties have held two rounds of talks with a
view to clarify possible Swiss questions regarding the acquis and nature of the agreement to be concluded.

The Community-Turkey Association Council, by Decision No 2/2000 (2), decided to open negotiations
aimed at the liberalisation of services and the mutual opening of procurement markets between the
Community and Turkey. The parties have held three rounds of talks.

Furthermore, in the context of the regional framework launched in November 1995 between the Union
the Palestinian
and its 12 Mediterranean partners (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt,
Authority, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta) to liberalise trade across the Euro-Mediterranean
area. The Union has concluded Association Agreements with all
its MED partners apart from Syria
(negotiations are ongoing). All Association Agreements cover services trade insofar as they foresee future
liberalisation of trade in services between the Union and its partners.

Jordan,

Israel,

The Community has also concluded an Agreement with South Africa which liberalises trade in goods
between the two parties, and foresees, in a similar way as with the MED countries, future liberalisation of
trade in services.

More recently, on 17 June 2002, the Council reached a political agreement on negotiating directives for a
Trade and Co-operation Agreement with Iran. The negotiation and conclusion of the agreement will help
develop economic exchanges and co-operation with Iran, and contribute to the continuation of the process
of political and economic reform. As far as services are concerned, the agreement will establish a
framework for their progressive liberalisation.

Finally, the General Affairs Council on 21 October 2002 adopted a mandate for a future Stabilisation and
Association Agreement with Albania. The opening of the negotiations will take place by the end of January
2003.

(1) OJ C 137 E, 12.6.2003, p. 99.
(2) OJ L 138, 9.6.2000.