WRITTEN QUESTION P-1250/03 by Herman Schmid (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. GATS — Liberalisation of drinking water.
Date: 2003-03-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: GATS, charter on human rights, common commercial policy, developing countries, drinking water, liberalisation of the market, services contract, water supply

7.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 268 E/181

(2003/C 268 E/204)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1249/03

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(2 April 2003)

Subject: Chechen children going without schooling and Chechen newborn babies going unregistered in

Azerbaijan

Following the resumption of hostilities in Chechnya in 1999, tens of thousands of Chechens have fled their
country and are taking refuge in neighbouring countries, where they very often live in extremely difficult
conditions. Thousands of them have found refuge in Azerbaijan. In addition to the enormous material
difficulties that Chechen refugee families have to face, they have been prevented from registering Chechen
children born in Azerbaijan with the civil authorities of that country over the last three years. According
to well-informed sources, around 100 Chechen children have been born in Azerbaijan since the hostilities
resumed. Chechen children have also been refused access to schooling.

What information is available to the Commission on the obstacles that Chechen families taking refuge in
Azerbaijan encounter when registering the birth of their children born in Azerbaijan? What information is
available to the Commission regarding the schooling of Chechen children in Azerbaijan? What steps has
the Commission taken, or what steps does it intend to take, to ensure that Chechen children born in
Azerbaijan can be registered and can attend school?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 2003)

The Commission is aware of the situation of Chechen refugees in Azerbaijan from publicly available
information sources.

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) at the end of 2002 there were
62 registered refugees and a further 5573 with asylum applications pending.

The Commission is grateful to the Honourable Member for drawing attention to the problem and will
consider how best to address it within the context of our Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA)
with Azerbaijan. The next PCA event will be the European Parliament-Azerbaijan Parliament Cooperation
Committee scheduled for 28 and 29 April 2003 in Baku.

(2003/C 268 E/205)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1250/03

by Herman Schmid (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(26 March 2003)

Subject: GATS (cid:1) Liberalisation of drinking water

The EU produced a draft initial offer for improved market access to services on 6 February 2003. This
request was sent to 109 countries, of which 94 are developing countries, in the framework of the General
Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS).

According to the initial draft offer, the EU itself is not intending to liberalise drinking water under the
GATS.

However, the actual content of the 109 requests reveals that countries like, for example, Bangladesh are
asked to open up their markets for drinking water supply. The requests have been made public by the
Canadian Polaris Institute (http://www.polarisinstitute.org/gats/main.htm).

C 268 E/182

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

7.11.2003

How would the Commission explain that its public statements (see below) and the draft initial offer and
actual request (which have been kept confidential from public scrutiny) send fundamentally different
messages as to the intentions of the Commission in GATS?

‘The GATS negotiations are about opening up services trade. They are not about deregulation of services,
many of which are closely regulated for very good reasons, such as ensuring quality and equal access to
public services, social and territorial cohesion’ (Foreword by Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy in the
document which forms the basis for consultation with civil society).

Is the Commission aware that the opening up of the market for drinking water could violate ‘the right to
life’ in the UN Charter of Human Rights? How can the Commission guarantee that ‘the right to life’, will
not be violated when people are deprived of equal access to water?

Finally, does the Commission consider the GATS agreement to have a higher legal status than the UN
Charter of Human Rights?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(25 April 2003)

In the context of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)/General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
negotiations, the Community has tabled requests for improved market access for European services
suppliers to its trading partners. Most of the requests, including to developing countries, do cover water
distribution services together with waste water management.

The Community’s requests are consistent with the Community’s overall policy on water, and the
Commission has made no secret of its objectives. The summary of the Community’s requests, which the
Commission published in July 2002, clearly states the Community is requesting market access for ‘water
collection, purification and distribution services’.

Regarding access to water, it is important to stress that the Community requests on water distribution do
not undermine or reduce in any way the host governments’ ability to regulate that sector. Even if a
government decides to open water distribution services to private sector participation, this does not mean
that it cannot implement domestic policies targeted the achievement of social policy objectives.

In view of the high capital demand for water infrastructure investment, there is growing recognition that
the private sector needs to be involved in efforts, together with government and civil society, to improve
water and sanitation services in particular in poorer countries. Liberalisation of trade in water related
services in the context of WTO could be used as an instrument to facilitate infrastructure investments,
strengthen water management capabilities and foster technological development, taking into account
developing countries’ administrative capacities and regulatory framework.

Evidently, any reform of the water supply which involves private sector participation, including through
possible GATS commitments in this sector, needs to pay particular attention to establishing an appropriate
regulatory framework to ensure equitable access to water.

However, the Community requests in the GATS context do not undermine or reduce in any way the host
governments’ ability to regulate water management and allocation among users, to choose the more
appropriate form of private participation and to impose equitable pricing policies and ensure affordability
for the poor. The Community has and will continue to support developing countries in this respect,
including through the provision of technical assistance.