REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION on negotiations for access of Union undertakings to the markets of third countries in fields covered by Directive 2014/25/EU
Date: 2021-03-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: World Trade Organisation, agreement on government procurement, bilateral agreement, market access, multilateral agreement, public contract, public procurement, stabilisation and association agreement, third country

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 2.3.2021  COM(2021) 100 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION on negotiations for access of Union undertakings to the markets of third countries in fields covered by Directive 2014/25/EU  
 
 
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

on negotiations for access of Union undertakings to the markets of third countries in 
fields covered by Directive 2014/25/EU 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 2 

2.  PLURILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS ................................................... 3 

2.1.  WTO AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT (GPA) ................................ 3 

2.1.1. 

Revised GPA ................................................................................................................... 3 

2.1.2. 

Overview of current coverage under the revised GPA .................................................... 3 

2.1.3. 

Accession of new members ............................................................................................. 4 

2.2.  WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) ........................................................ 6 

3.  EU AGREEMENTS WITH PROCUREMENT CHAPTERS ........................................................ 7 

3.1. 

European Economic Area (EEA) ............................................................................................ 7 

3.2.  Bilateral agreement with Switzerland ..................................................................................... 7 

3.3. 
Procurement chapters in the Stabilisation and Association Agreements within the EU’s 
enlargement policy .............................................................................................................................. 8 

3.4. 

Procurement chapters in agreements within the Neighbourhood policy ................................. 8 

3.4.1. 

Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia ............................................................................................. 8 

3.4.2. 

Armenia ........................................................................................................................... 9 

3.5.  Other EU agreements with government procurement commitments ...................................... 9 

3.5.1. 

Andean Community (Colombia, Peru, Ecuador) ............................................................. 9 

3.5.2. 

Canada ............................................................................................................................. 9 

3.5.3. 

Central America............................................................................................................. 10 

3.5.4. 

Iraq................................................................................................................................. 10 

3.5.5. 

Japan .............................................................................................................................. 10 

3.5.6. 

Kazakhstan .................................................................................................................... 10 

3.5.7. 

South Korea ................................................................................................................... 11 

3.5.8. 

Singapore ....................................................................................................................... 11 

3.5.9. 

Vietnam ......................................................................................................................... 11 

3.5.10.  United Kingdom ............................................................................................................ 11 

4.  ONGOING BILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS AND AGREEMENTS NOT YET SIGNED ........ 12 

5.  CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................... 12 

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1.  INTRODUCTION 

This  report  is  presented  to  the  Council  in  accordance  with  Articles  851  and  862  of  Directive 
2014/25/EU  (the  ‘Utilities  Directive’)  on  procurement  by  entities  operating  in  the  water,  energy, 
transport  and  postal  services  sectors  (the  ‘utilities  sectors’)3.  A  previous  report  was  issued  by  the 
Commission in 20094, on the basis of similar reporting obligations under Directive 2004/17/EC. The 
current  report  presents  the  main  developments  since  2009  on  access  of  Union  undertakings  to  the 
procurement  markets  of  third  countries  in  the  fields  covered  by  the  Utilities  Directive5  and  on  the 
opening up of service contracts in third countries.   

More  precisely,  the  present  report  takes  stock  of  progress  in  opening  up  the  access  of  Union 
undertakings to the procurement markets of third countries since the accession of new members to the 
plurilateral  World  Trade  Organisation  (WTO)  Government  Procurement  Agreement  (GPA)6.  In 
addition, the report provides information on the results of bilateral or regional trade negotiations on the 
access of Union undertakings to the procurement markets of third countries in the utilities sectors. The 
Commission  provides  a  comprehensive  stocktaking  of  the  state  of  implementation  of  free  trade 
agreements (FTAs) in its annual implementation reports7.  

The Utilities Directive applies to three different categories of entities (contracting authorities, public 
undertakings  and  private  undertakings  with  special  or  exclusive  rights).  Hence, private  undertakings 
with  special  or  exclusive  rights  are  also  subject  to  the  Utilities  Directive.  However,  the  concept  of 
applying procurement rules to private companies active in the utilities sectors is not shared worldwide. 
As a result, access to purchases by private companies active in the utilities sectors cannot always be 
negotiated  with  third  countries,  and  the  European  Union  has  made  only  limited  international 
commitments (GPA or FTAs) in this area. 

1  Article  85  (5)  of  Directive  2014/25/EU  provides  the  following:  ‘By  31  December  2015  and  every  year  thereafter,  the 
Commission shall submit an annual report to the Council, on progress made in multilateral or bilateral negotiations regarding 
access for Union undertakings to the markets of third countries in the fields covered by this Directive, on any result which 
such  negotiations  may  have  achieved,  and  on  the  implementation  in  practice  of  all  the  agreements  which  have  been 
concluded’. 
2 Article 86 (2) of Directive 2014/25/EU provides the following: ‘The Commission shall report to the Council by 18 April 
2019, and periodically thereafter, on the opening up of service contracts in third countries and on progress in negotiations 
with these countries on this subject, particularly within the framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’. 
3  Directive  2014/25/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  26  February  2014  on  procurement  by  entities 
operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC.  
4 COM(2009)592 final: Report from the Commission, concerning negotiations regarding access of Community undertakings 
to  the  markets  of  third  countries  in  fields  covered  by  the  Directive  2004/17/EC,  COM(2009)592  final  of  28.10.2009.  The 
Report was prepared in accordance with Articles 58 and 59 of Directive 2004/17/EC.    
5 According to Article 1 (2) of Directive 2014/25/EU ‘Procurement within the meaning of this Directive is the acquisition by 
means  of  a  supply,  works  or  service  contract  of  works,  supplies  or  services  by  one  or  more  contracting  entities  from 
economic operators chosen by those contracting entities, provided that the works, supplies or services are intended for the 
pursuit of one of the activities referred to in Articles 8 to 14’.  
6 Unlike the WTO multilateral trade agreements that are binding on all WTO Members, the plurilateral GPA is binding only 
on  those  WTO  Members  that  have  accepted  it.  As  a  result,  the GPA  does  not  create  either  obligations  or  rights  for  WTO 
Members that have not accepted it. 
7 Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and 
the  Committee  of  Regions  on  Implementation  of  Free  Trade  Agreements  1  January  2016  -  31  December  2016, 
COM/2017/0654 final; Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and 
Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  Regions  on  Implementation  of  Free  Trade  Agreements  1  January  2017  -  31 
December 2017, COM/2018/728 final; Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  Regions  on  implementation  of  Free  Trade  Agreements  1  January 
2018 - 31 December 2018, COM/2019/455 final; Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the 
European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  Regions  on  implementation  of  EU  Trade  Agreements  1 
January 2019 - 31 December 2019, COM/2020/705 final. 

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2.  PLURILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS  

2.1.  WTO AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT (GPA) 

The GPA is to date the only legally binding agreement in the WTO on government procurement. It is a 
plurilateral treaty administered by a Committee on Government Procurement (‘the GPA Committee’).  

Currently, 21 WTO Members are Parties to the GPA, including the European Union and its Member 
States,  which  count  as  one  Party.  The  revised  GPA was  signed  on  30  March  2012  and  entered into 
force on 6 April 20148. The revised GPA provides for further opening up of the public procurement 
markets of the Parties to the GPA.  

2.1.1.  Revised GPA 

The  GPA  Parties  completed  a  full  revision  of  both  the  text  of  the  GPA  and  the  market  access 
commitments  under  it.  The  revised  GPA  provides  a  higher  level  of  clarity  and  transparency  and 
guarantees equal footing in procurement procedures to suppliers, supplies and services originating in 
GPA Parties. 

The revised GPA consists of two parts: a) a legal text with rules on principles and procedures, which 
the procuring entities of the GPA Parties need to apply and b) the coverage schedules of each Party 
(‘Appendix I Annexes’). The coverage schedules of the GPA Parties are divided into seven annexes 
covering central government entities, sub-central government entities, other entities9, goods, services, 
construction services and general notes. These annexes determine the extent to which the procurement 
of  goods  and  services  (including  construction  services)  by  the  various  procuring  entities  of  a  given 
GPA Party is open to participation of economic operators originating in the other GPA Parties. When 
these procuring entities are covered under a GPA Party’s annex, they need to apply the rules stipulated 
in the revised GPA for the procurement of goods and services.   

The  commitment  to  further  negotiations  is  enshrined  in  the  revised  GPA.  As  stipulated  in  Article 
XXII:7  of  the  revised  GPA,  the  GPA  Parties  have  to  undertake  further  negotiations  to  improve  the 
GPA  so  that  discriminatory  measures  are  progressively  reduced  and  eliminated  and  to  achieve  the 
greatest possible extension of its coverage among all Parties on the basis of mutual reciprocity.  

The coverage is not uniform, the degree to which the utilities procurement is open to competition from 
the economic operators of GPA Parties varies from country to country, and the coverage is subject to 
exclusions and reciprocity-based restrictions.  

2.1.2.  Overview of current coverage under the revised GPA  

The  renegotiation  of  the  GPA  led  to  a  successful  and  flexible  expansion  of  Parties’  market  access 
commitments, based on the principle of reciprocity. According to the WTO Secretariat, the additions 

8  Article  XXIV:9  of  the  previous  version  of  the  GPA  (GPA  1994,  signed  on  15  April  1994  and  entered  into  force  on  1 
January  1996),  allowed  Parties  to  amend  the  Agreement  having  regard,  inter  alia,  to  the  experience  gained  in  its 
implementation. On 15 December 2011, the Parties to the GPA 1994 reached a political agreement at ministerial level on the 
outcomes of the respective negotiations. That political agreement was confirmed with the adoption by the GPA Committee 
on 30 March 2012 of a Decision on the outcomes of the negotiations. By means of that Decision, which includes a Protocol 
Amending the Agreement on Government Procurement (the ‘Protocol’), the Parties to the GPA 1994 authenticated the text of 
the  Protocol  and  opened  it  for  their  acceptance.  The  Protocol  amending  the  Agreement  on  Government  Procurement  was 
approved  by  the  Council, on behalf  of  the  European  Union.  (2014/115/EU:  Council  Decision  of  2  December  2013  on  the 
conclusion of the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government Procurement). 
9 Entities operating in the utilities sectors.  

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to market access would result in an estimated USD 80 to USD 100 billion in annual gains in market 
access opportunities for Parties' companies10.  

The additions to market coverage of entities and of goods, services and construction services, which 
are incorporated in the Parties’ coverage schedules to the revised GPA, represent, overall, new market 
access opportunities for the EU’s economic operators.  

The  EU  market  opening  under  the  GPA  is  the  most  comprehensive.  In  cases  where  GPA  Parties 
provide  for  limited  market  access,  the  European  Union  seeks  to  ensure  reciprocity  by  introducing 
reservations  from  its  market  coverage  so  that  it  reciprocates  the  limitations  in  other  Parties'  market 
coverages. For example, such reservations are applied to the U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia and 
New  Zealand.  Most  of  the  reservations  concern  the  utilities  sectors  (i.e.  electricity,  drinking  water, 
ports and railways) where the coverage of other Parties is more modest than the EU’s coverage.   

2.1.3.  Accession of new members  

The European Union has been supporting the accession of new members to the GPA and will continue 
to do so in order to further open procurement markets in third countries. The participation in the GPA 
has grown  continuously over the last years. This has led to  a further expansion of market coverage, 
also for the procurement of utilities.   

Since the previous report, the European Union has been further enlarged, increasing the level of the 
EU's  coverage  provided  under  the  GPA.  On  1  July  2013,  Croatia  joined  the  European  Union.  As  a 
consequence,  the  GPA  offer  for  the  European  Union  was  extended  to  include  Croatia  as  of  1  July 
2013. The EU’s proposed modifications to the EU’s appendices were adopted by the Committee on 
Government Procurement at its formal meeting on 27 June 201311.  

2.1.3.1. Armenia 

Armenia applied for GPA accession in September 2009. Subsequently, Armenia submitted a revised 
offer  in  April  2010  and  a  final  offer  in  September  2010.  In  August  2011,  Armenia  deposited  its 
instrument  of  accession,  following  a  decision  of  the  GPA  Committee.  The  GPA  1994  entered  into 
force for Armenia on 15 September 2011. Armenia also ratified the revised GPA, which entered into 
force for Armenia on 6 June 2015.    

Armenia’s commitments under the revised GPA include the procurement  of utilities. The thresholds 
have  been  set  at  SDR12 400 000  for  goods,  SDR 400 000  for  services  and  SDR 5 000 000  for 
construction services.  

2.1.3.2. Montenegro 

Montenegro applied for GPA accession in October 2013 and submitted its initial offer in November 
2013. Montenegro circulated its second revised offer in June 2014 and, subsequently, its final offer in 
July 2014. In October 2014, the GPA Committee adopted a decision inviting Montenegro to accede to 
the GPA. Following the deposit of its instrument of accession, the revised GPA entered into force for 
Montenegro on 15 July 2015.  

10 Report by the Director-General to the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the WTO, WT/MIN(11)/5, 18 November 2011.  
11 GPA/118, dated 27 June 2013. 
12 Special Drawing Rights 

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Montenegro grants to GPA Parties access to procurements of all utilities operating in the same sectors 
(meaning  the  drinking  water,  electricity,  airport,  port,  urban  transport  and  railways  sectors)  as 
provided by the European Union, and it applies the same reciprocity-based restrictions as applied by 
the European Union vis-à-vis the other GPA Parties. The thresholds have been set at SDR 400 000 for 
goods, SDR 400 000 for services and SDR 5 000 000 for construction services. 

2.1.3.3. New Zealand  

New Zealand applied for GPA accession in September 2012. New Zealand submitted its final offer in 
July 2014. In October 2014, the GPA Committee adopted a decision on New Zealand’s accession to 
the revised GPA. Following the deposit of an instrument of accession, the revised GPA entered into 
force for New Zealand in August 2015. 

New  Zealand’s  commitments  under  the  revised  GPA  include,  in  its  Annex  on  ‘other  entities’,  four 
state-owned enterprises operating in the utilities sectors of airways, meteorological services, railways, 
and  electricity  (Airways  Corporation  of  New  Zealand  Limited,  Meteorological  Service  of  New 
Zealand Limited, KiwiRail Holdings Limited, and Transpower New Zealand Limited). The thresholds 
have  been  set  at  SDR 400 000  for  goods,  SDR 400 000  for  services  and  SDR 5 000 000  for 
construction services.  

2.1.3.4. Ukraine  

Ukraine  applied  for  GPA  accession  in  December  2012.  It  submitted  its  final  offer  in  June  2015.  In 
November 2015, the GPA Committee adopted a decision on Ukraine’s accession to the revised GPA. 
Following the deposit of an instrument of accession, the revised GPA entered into force for Ukraine 
on 18 May 2016.  

Ukraine provides coverage in respect of an extensive number of utilities sectors, and it provides for an 
indicative  list  of  entities  operating  in  the  utilities  sectors,  following  a  definition-based  approach. 
Ukraine excludes procurement from affiliated undertakings or joint ventures. The thresholds have been 
set at SDR 400 000 for goods, SDR 400 000 for services and SDR 5 000 000 for construction services.  

2.1.3.5. The Republic of Moldova  

In  January  2002,  the  Republic  of  Moldova  applied  for  GPA  accession.  The  Republic  of  Moldova 
submitted its final offer in May 2015. In September 2015, the GPA Committee adopted a decision on 
Moldova’s accession. Following the deposit of its instrument of accession, the revised GPA  entered 
into force for the Republic of Moldova on 14 July 2016.  

The  Republic  of  Moldova  offers  access  to  procurements  by  all  entities  qualified  as  contracting 
authorities under national law, operating in utilities sectors such as drinking water, electricity and/or 
thermal energy (production, transport or distribution), port or other terminal facilities, airport facilities, 
urban  transport  and  railway  transport.  An  indicative  list  of  entities  is  included.  No  reservations  are 
specified.  The  thresholds  have  been  set  at  SDR 400 000  for  goods,  SDR 400 000  for  services  and 
SDR 5 000 000 for construction services. However, thresholds for goods and services were subject to 
a two-year transition period13.  

13 In the first year following accession, the thresholds for both goods and services were set at SDR 600 000, and in the second 
year  following  accession,  they  were  set  at  SDR 500 000.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  third  year  following  accession,  the 
thresholds have been set at SDR 400 000. 

5 

 
 
 
                                                           
2.1.3.6. Australia  

In June 2015, Australia applied for GPA accession. It submitted revised offers in September 2016 and 
June 2017, and its final offer in March 2018. The negotiations on Australia’s accession to the revised 
GPA have been concluded, and the GPA Committee adopted a decision on Australia’s accession to the 
revised GPA in October 2018. Following the deposit of an instrument of accession, the revised GPA 
entered into force for Australia on 5 May 2019.   

Utilities, railways and other transport-related areas (such as road construction and ports) fall under the 
responsibilities of Australia’s States and Territories. For the entities listed for the Australian Capital 
Territory,  the  revised  GPA  does  not  cover  the  procurement  of  utility  services.  The  thresholds  have 
been  set  at  SDR 355 000  for  goods,  SDR 355 000  for  services  and  SDR 5 000 000  for  construction 
services.  Government  business  enterprises  in  Australia  that  seem  to  be  comparable  to  EU  public 
undertakings that the European Union offers for procurement if they operate in the utilities sectors of 
water, electricity, port and airports, urban transport and railways (definition approach) are not covered 
for the utilities sectors.   

2.1.3.7. United Kingdom 

During the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement between the European Union 
and the United Kingdom14 (1 February 2020 – 31 December 2020), the United Kingdom continued to 
be covered by the revised GPA as an EU Member State. Following the expiry of that transition period, 
the United Kingdom acceded to the revised GPA as a Party in its own right on 1 January 2021. The 
United  Kingdom’s  final  offer  under  the  GPA  replicates  the  terms  of  the  current  EU  schedule  of 
commitments under the revised GPA in so far as it is applicable to the United Kingdom, including for 
the utilities sectors.15 

2.1.3.8. Pending accessions  

At  present,  11  WTO  members  are  formally  in  the  process  of  acceding  (Republic  of  Albania; 
Federative Republic of Brazil; People’s Republic of China; Georgia; Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; 
Republic of Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Republic; Republic of North Macedonia; Sultanate of Oman; Russian 
Federation;  Republic  of  Tajikistan).  However,  there  is  currently  no  activity  related  to  the  accession 
process  of  Albania,  Georgia,  Jordan  or  Oman.  Four  other  WTO  members  have  undertaken 
commitments in their WTO accession protocols to initiate accession to the revised GPA. They are the 
Islamic  Republic  of  Afghanistan,  Mongolia,  the  Kingdom  of  Saudi  Arabia  and  the  Republic  of 
Seychelles.   

2.2.  WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) 

Article XIII (2) of the GATS provides a rendez-vous clause mandating that ‘there shall be multilateral 
negotiations on government procurement in services under this Agreement within two years from the 
date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement.’  

14 Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and 
the European Atomic Energy Community, OJ L 29, 31.1.2020, p. 7 (“Withdrawal Agreement”). 
15 In Annex 3 (‘Other entities’), the United Kingdom's final offer provides coverage  for procuring entities operating in the 
utilities sectors, replicating the Union schedule. The indicative lists of entities under the United Kingdom’s final offer within 
the GPA remain identical to the lists for the United Kingdom under the Union schedule. 

6 

 
 
                                                           
On the basis of this mandate, which refers broadly to the procurement of services by any contracting 
entity (and thus is not limited to utilities providers), the European Union has made concrete proposals 
to include an annex on the government procurement of services in the plurilateral Trade in Services 
Agreement (TiSA) under negotiation. However, the TiSA negotiations, on which the Council and the 
Parliament have duly been kept informed, have so far not been concluded and are currently suspended. 

3.  EU AGREEMENTS WITH PROCUREMENT CHAPTERS 

3.1.  European Economic Area (EEA)  

Article 65 and Annex XVI of the EEA Agreement state that the provisions of the Utilities Directive 
apply  in  the  EFTA  countries.  Norway,  Liechtenstein  and  Iceland  continue  to  provide  Union 
undertakings access to their utilities procurement, offering a coverage which matches the scope of the 
Utilities Directive. 

The latest enlargement of the EU took place on 1 July 2013 when Croatia joined the European Union. 
A country which becomes a member of the European Union also has to apply to become party to the 
EEA  Agreement16.  The  Agreement  on  the  Republic  of  Croatia’s  participation  in  the  European 
Economic  Area  (‘EEA  Enlargement  Agreement’)  and  three  related  agreements17  were  signed  on  11 
April 2014. The EEA Enlargement Agreement has been provisionally applied since 12 April 2014.   

3.2.  Bilateral agreement with Switzerland  

The EU and Switzerland have a longstanding relationship in the field of public procurement as Parties 
to the GPA and to a bilateral agreement on certain aspects of public procurement concluded in 1999. 
In  the  GPA  framework,  the  EU-Switzerland  relationship  was  governed  by  the  GPA  1994  until  31 
December  2020.  In  terms  of  utilities,  the  GPA  1994  Swiss  commitments  covered  only  public 
authorities and public undertakings in the following sectors: water, electricity, public transport (inner 
city)  systems,  airports  and  domestic  ports.  On  1  January  2021,  Switzerland  acceded  to  the  revised 
GPA18, under which it will include the coverage of postal services in Annex 3.  

The bilateral agreement on procurement19 complements the commitments of Switzerland and the EU 
under  the  GPA.  It  goes  beyond  the  GPA  in  that  the  EU  and  Switzerland  mutually  grant  access  to 
above-threshold procurement of goods, works and services by both public entities (public authorities 
and public undertakings) and private utilities operating on the basis of special or exclusive rights in the 
fields  of  telecommunication,  railway,  gas,  heat,  oil,  coal  and  other  solid  fuels  and  private  utilities 
operating  on  the  basis  of  special  or  exclusive  rights  in  the  fields  of  electricity,  drinking  water, 
maritime or inland ports, airports and urban transports.  

16 Article 128 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area. 
17 Agreement on the participation of the Republic of Croatia in the European Economic Area and three related agreements, 
OJ L 170, 11.6.2014, p. 5-48. 
18 The GPA 2012 entered into force for Switzerland on 1 January 2021. On the same date, the GPA 2012 replaced the GPA 
1994. 
19 Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on certain aspects of government procurement, 
OJ L 114, 30.4.2002, p. 430-467 

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3.3.  Procurement  chapters  in  the  Stabilisation  and  Association  Agreements  within  the  EU’s 

enlargement policy  

Stabilisation  and  Association  Agreements  (‘SAAs’)  are  part  of  the  EU  stabilisation  and  association 
process.  Since the launch of  this  process, the  European  Union  has  progressively  concluded  bilateral 
SAAs including trade commitments with each of the Western Balkan partners:  

  Albania (entered into force in 2009), 
  North Macedonia (entered into force in 2004), 
  Montenegro (entered into force in 2010), 
  Serbia (entered into force in 2013), 
  Bosnia and Herzegovina (entered into force in 2015), and 
  Kosovo* (entered into force in 2016)20. 

Since the aim of the SAAs is to help the Western Balkan partners concerned to build their capacity to 
adopt and implement EU law, the reciprocal commitments are usually construed on an asymmetrical 
basis.  

This  is  also  the  case  for  the  relevant  procurement  provisions.  When  the  SAA  enters  into  force,  the 
economic operators of the signatory country, whether established or not in the European Union, shall 
be  granted  access  to  contract  award  procedures  in  the  European  Union  pursuant  to  EU  public 
procurement rules. This applies also to contracts in the utilities sectors once the signatory country has 
adopted the legislation introducing the EU rules in this area.   

EU economic operators established in the signatory country shall be granted access to contract award 
procedures  in  the  said  country  under  treatment  no  less  favourable  than  the  treatment  granted  to 
national companies when the Agreement enters into force.  

EU  economic  operators  not  established  in  the  signatory  country  shall  be  granted  access  to  contract 
award procedures in the said country under treatment no less favourable than the treatment granted to 
national companies of the said country, within a given number of years following the entry into force 
of each Agreement. 

3.4.  Procurement chapters in agreements within the Neighbourhood policy  

3.4.1.  Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia  

As part of the broader association agreements, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia have signed agreements 
with the EU to set up a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.  

Such  a  Deep  and  Comprehensive  Free  Trade  Area  is  linked  to  the  broader  process  of  legislative 
approximation. The subject of public procurement is of particular importance in this context: the three 
countries  have  agreed  to  implement,  within  a  certain  transition  period  and  according  to  a  detailed 
schedule, nearly all EU legislation on public procurement, as if they were part of the EU. Ultimately, 
therefore, the three countries’ legislation on the procurement of utilities will be based on the standards 
set by Directive 2014/25/EU. 

20 Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia are candidate countries for EU membership. Bosnia 
and Herzegovina and Kosovo* are potential candidates for EU membership. 
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on 
the Kosovo declaration of independence. 

8 

 
 
 
                                                           
3.4.2.  Armenia  

EU-Armenia  bilateral  trade  relations  are  regulated  by  a  Comprehensive  and  Enhanced  Partnership 
Agreement.  Negotiations  for  the  agreement  were  completed  in  February  2017.  It  has  been 
provisionally  applied  since  June  2018.  The  new  agreement  replaces  the  1999  Partnership  and 
Cooperation Agreement. 

As  Armenia  already  provided  very  comprehensive  coverage  under  the  GPA,  the  only  additional 
feature of the bilateral chapter is that it  provides clarification on the coverage of works concessions. 
This applies to all entities covered, including utility providers. 

3.5.  Other EU agreements with government procurement commitments 

3.5.1.  Andean Community (Colombia, Peru, Ecuador) 

The EU has a comprehensive trade agreement with Colombia and Peru, which has been provisionally 
applied with Peru since 1 March 2013, and with Colombia since 1 August 2013. 

The  Protocol  of  Accession  for  Ecuador  was  signed  in  November  2016  and  has  been  provisionally 
applied since 1 January 2017.  

As for utilities, in the trade agreement’s Annex on ‘other entities’, Peru offered coverage of entities 
operating in the energy, water, airports and postal services sectors, for procurement above thresholds 
that are identical for entities operating in the utilities sectors, as offered by the EU. 

Colombia listed the procurement entities at central level and revised the coverage of entities at sub-
central level (Trade Committee Decision 1/2017) and, in the Annex “other entities”, listed a number of 
independent entities operating in various fields. The EU has expressed concerns as EU suppliers are 
not  granted  national  treatment  in  some  government  procurement  contracts  at  sub-central  level,  in 
particular  in  the  utilities  field.  Technical  discussions  are  ongoing  with  a  view  to  finding  a  mutually 
agreeable solution21. 

In  the  Annex  to  its  Protocol  of  Accession,  Ecuador offers coverage  of  procurement  by  a  number  of 
public undertakings operating in the energy, telecommunications, postal services, transport (including 
railways), water and sewage sectors.   

3.5.2.  Canada  

The new trade agreement between the EU and Canada (‘CETA’) entered into provisional application 
on  21  September  2017.  The  chapter  on  procurement  contains  important  new  market  access 
commitments for both sides. 

In the utilities sectors, most state-owned utility providers in Canada operate as ‘Crown Corporations’, 
i.e. state-owned enterprises that operate at arm’s length of the government. With the commitment of 
the  procurement  of  most  of  these  Crown  Corporations,  CETA  marks  a  historic  step  forward  in 
providing  EU  bidders  a  non-discriminatory  access  to  the  procurement  of  Canadian  providers  of 
electricity,  transport  by  railway  and  waterway,  local  transport,  drinking  water  and  gas  production, 

21 Report on the Implementation of EU trade agreements of 12 November 2020 and Commission Staff Working Document 
accompanying the report, available at: https://trade.ec.europa.eu 

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distribution and supply. An itemised list of the Canadian entities concerned is found in Annexes 19-1 
to 19-3 to CETA. 

3.5.3.  Central America 

The EU and Central America signed an association agreement; its trade pillar has been provisionally 
applied since 1 August 2013 to Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, since 1 October 2013 to Costa Rica 
and Salvador and since 1 December 2013 to Guatemala. 

In the utilities sectors, the following market access commitments are relevant: 

  Costa Rica covered entities in the transport, energy, water and electricity sectors; 
  Guatemala covered entities in the telecoms and port sectors; 
  Nicaragua covered entities in the postal, energy, water and sewage sectors; 
  Panama covered entities in the electricity, transport, water and sewage sectors; 
  Honduras covered a port authority.   

3.5.4.  Iraq 

The EU-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement has been provisionally applied since 1 August 
2012. In the utilities sectors, Iraq mirrors the EU’s commitments for water, electricity, transport and 
energy. 

3.5.5.  Japan  

The  Economic  Partnership  Agreement  (EPA)  between  the  EU  and  Japan  entered  into  force  on  1 
February 2019. For public procurement, the EU has gained better access to contracts put out for tender 
in  Japan  by  both  the  central  government  and  regional  and  local  governments.  For  utilities,  the 
following improvements are notable: 

Railways: One of the EU's priorities in the negotiations was to secure greater access to the Japanese 
market  for  railway  equipment  and  infrastructure.  Japan  has  in  large  part  agreed  to  offer  this  by 
explicitly  granting  access  to  procurements  of  goods  and  services  for  the  operational  safety  of 
passenger transport. Since 1 February 2020, the so-called Operational Safety Clause in the GPA, while 
remaining in place, does not apply to EU bidders, as these bidders can rely on the bilateral agreement.  

Japan  has  also  agreed  to  an  exchange  of  letters  on  railways,  which  anchors  the  current  cooperation 
between  the  two  sides  on  railways  to  the  FTA.  This  cooperation  includes  the  ‘Railway  Industrial 
Dialogue’ and the ‘Technical Expert Group on Railways’. 

As for other utilities, Japan has agreed to open up tenders to EU bidders for electricity distribution (29 
entities).  In  addition,  Japan  has  agreed  to  grant  EU  suppliers  non-discriminatory  access  to  the 
procurement markets of 48 cities of around 300 000 inhabitants. These cities represent roughly 15% of 
the Japanese population. This is important in the context of this report, as most utilities in Japan are 
run at the municipal level. 

3.5.6.  Kazakhstan 

The  Enhanced  Partnership  and  Cooperation  Agreement  between  the  EU  and  Kazakhstan,  signed  in 
December 2015, provisionally applied since 1 May 2016 and in force since 1 March 2020, is the first 
case of a non-preferential trade agreement including a comprehensive chapter on public procurement 
with  mutual  market  access  commitments.  These  market  access  commitments  do  not  cover 
procurement of utilities in the field covered by Directive 2014/25/EU. 

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3.5.7.  South Korea 

The EU and Korea have a longstanding relationship in public procurement as Parties to the GPA. The 
relationship  was  reconfirmed  by  incorporating  most  of  the  GPA  rules  as  well  as  their  GPA 
commitments  (including  their  subsequent  amendments)  in  the  FTA,  which  has  been  provisionally 
applied  since  July  2011  (and  was  formally  ratified  in  December  2015).  Since  January  2016,  the 
revised GPA has been applicable between the EU and Korea.  

In  the  utilities  sectors,  Korea  has  committed  to  open  to  EU  companies  the  procurement  of  entities 
operating in the energy, water, electricity,  local transport and railways sectors, including high speed 
railways (as from entry into force of the revised GPA).  

3.5.8.  Singapore 

The  EU  and  Singapore  signed  a  trade  agreement  on  19  October  2018.  Following  the  European 
Parliament's  consent  on  13  February  2019,  and  the  Council  decision  on  the  conclusion  of  this 
agreement  on  8  November  2019,  the  FTA  entered  into  force  on  21  November  2019.  As  part  of  the 
trade agreement, the public procurement chapter contains procurement provisions based on the GPA. 
Singapore and the EU are Parties to the GPA. In the trade agreement, both the EU and Singapore have 
gone beyond their WTO commitments on government procurement.  

As for utilities, Singapore has provided more openings than in the GPA, as it opened up procurement 
for certain  utilities  such  as  energy  (the  Energy  Market  Authority) and included  additional  procuring 
entities, for example public entities operating in the airports and local transport sectors.  

3.5.9.  Vietnam 

The European Union and Vietnam signed a trade agreement and  an investment protection agreement 
on 30 June 2019. The trade agreement was concluded by the Council on 30 March 2020 and it entered 
into force on 1 August 2020.  

The agreement provides opportunities to increase trade and support jobs and growth on both sides by 
opening  up  services  and  public  procurement  markets.  EU  companies  will  have  better  access  to  the 
Vietnamese  public  procurement  markets  than  companies  from  any  other  country.  The  public 
procurement  chapter  of  the  trade  agreement  contains  procurement  provisions  based  on  the  GPA 
principles of non-discrimination, transparency and fairness in procurement procedures.  

As  for  market  access  coverage  in  the  utilities  sectors,  in  the  agreement’s  Annex  on  ‘other  entities’, 
Vietnam  lists  42  entities,  including  entities  operating  in  the  railways  (Vietnam  Railways)  and 
electricity  (Vietnam  Electricity)  sectors.  The  EU  provides  reciprocal  commitments  to  Vietnam, 
opening access to two of the utility sectors that it covers under the GPA: electricity and railways.  

3.5.10.  United Kingdom 

On  24  December  2020,  the  European  Union  and  the  United  Kingdom  concluded  a  Trade  and 
Cooperation Agreement (TCA)22 which started to apply provisionally on 1 January 2021. 

22 Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one 
part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, OJ L 444, 31.12.2020, p. 14. 

11 

 
 
                                                           
The  agreement  contains  some  of  the  most  ambitious  provisions  on  public  procurement  ever  entered 
into by the European Union, going beyond commitments under the GPA. It provides for rules on the 
use  of electronic  means  in  procurement,  electronic  publication  of  notices,  environmental,  social  and 
labour considerations, and domestic review procedures. The European Union and the United Kingdom 
extended  their  reciprocal  market  access  coverage  beyond  the  GPA  by  adding:  the  gas  and  heat 
distribution sector; private utilities with special and exclusive rights; and a range of additional services 
in the hospitality, telecoms, real estate, education and other business sectors. 

The Agreement further provides for non-discrimination of EU companies established in the UK (and 
vice versa) for any procurement (i.e. including procurement below the GPA/TCA thresholds and for 
non-covered procurement). 

4.  ONGOING BILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS AND AGREEMENTS NOT YET SIGNED 

Negotiations on trade agreements, all of which aim at including chapters on government procurement, 
are ongoing with: Australia, Azerbaijan, Chile, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand and Uzbekistan.  

The  EU  and  Mercosur  reached  an  agreement  in  principle  (on  the  trade  part  of  the  Association 
Agreement)  on  28  June  2019.  The  EU  and  Mexico  reached  an  agreement  in  principle  on  21  April 
2018, which was complemented by the agreement on public procurement at sub-central level reached 
in April 2020. 

5.  CONCLUSIONS  

For many years, the European Union has supported the opening of procurement markets through the 
removal of barriers.  

In this context, the European Union continues to support the accession of new members to the GPA, 
which  remains  the  crucial  instrument  for  opening  up  international  procurement  markets  under  the 
WTO. In parallel, the European Union continues to negotiate and implement ambitious bilateral and 
regional  trade  agreements.  These  efforts  at  multilateral  and  bilateral  levels  will  enable  Union 
undertakings  to  benefit  from  further  opportunities,  including  in  the  utilities  sectors,  based  on 
transparency, national treatment and non-discrimination.  

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