EU´s draft offer under the WTO

On the 5^th February, the European Commission presented to the Council and the European Parliament a draft offer concerning the services sector, following the negotiations, which took place in the World Trade Organization (WTO), particularly under the Doha Development Agenda. After its approval, this proposal will then be presented at the WTO conference, in Geneva, at the end of March 2003.

This document corresponds to the European reply to the other WTO members proposals, especially those made by developing countries, in July of 2002, underlying the need to negotiate the respective access to the European Union (EU) market, namely at the service level (sector which corresponds to more than 50% of the GNP of those members). However, for the EU, this is also a very important sector for its Member States economies? development, given that more than 67 million Europeans work in the services sector.

Among other points of the Commission?s proposal, the following ones stand out due to its sectorial implications:

- Audiovisual services ? the Commission does not present changes to present regime, which include a series of exceptions listed underthe negotiations of the Uruguay Round;

- Computers and related services ? as this sector is fundamental to the development of the Information Society in Europe, since the Commission proposes the full market access to foreign service providers, aiming at the increase of internal competition, with a view to reach the goal set in the Lisbon Strategy;

- Postal services ? it is confirmed foreign operators access to markets which have already been liberalised by the first Postal Directive of 1997, having then, safeguarded the universal service;

- Telecommunications services ? the proposal aims at guaranteeing third world countries? operators full access to the internal community market, safeguarding the Union?s right to define its universal service objectives.

Public services are not included in these negotiations, which also happens to the EU?s right to adopt the most appropriate regulation framework  for this sector. On the other hand, this offer is conditional on the submission of substantive offers from WTO members, in sectors where the EU requested a wider ranged negotiation.

The present proposal was based on the results of the public consultation, widely participated, launched by the Commission in November 2002, whose deadline for commentaries ended on the 31^st January   2003. On the other hand, this proposal is included in the negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the WTO, initiated in the Fourth Ministerial Conference in DOHA, in November 2001, which resulted in the approval of the mandate for the negotiations of a wider range of services ? the Doha Development Agenda.

See:

Proposal of the Commission submitted to the European Council and the European Parliament on services negotiation, under the WTO? 05/02/2003http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/services/pr050203b_en.htm

 Summary of the proposal

European Commission ? Trade in serviceshttp://www.europa.eu.int/comm/trade/services/index_en.htm

WTO ? Services tradehttp://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/serv_e.htm