Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-02-01-Speech-4-026"

Predicate	Value (sorted: none)
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@ro¹⁸
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@et⁵
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@sl²⁰
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@mt¹⁵
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@cs¹
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@sk¹⁹
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@lt¹⁴
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@pl¹⁶
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@hu¹¹
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	"Fru formand! Spørgsmålet om genforhandlingen af WTO-aftalen om offentlige indkøb, kendt under betegnelsen GPA, er vigtig for Europa, eftersom den bør give vores virksomheder flere muligheder uden for Fællesskabet fremover. I december nåede parterne bag GPA efter mange års langvarige og vanskelige forhandlinger til enighed om en foreløbig aftale om en ny revideret tekst. Jeg anser dette for et vigtigt resultat i den nuværende sammenhæng med Doha-runden. Den viser, at der fortsat er politisk vilje til at nå frem til en forståelse om disse følsomme spørgsmål. Jeg har tillid til, at hvis det lykkes for os, vil denne nye aftale udgøre en milepæl for den internationale samhandel og skabe nye muligheder for vores virksomheder. Den nye tekst skaber større klarhed og gennemsigtighed og giver en bedre garanti for ligebehandling i indkøbsprocedurerne. Den omfatter for første gang bestemmelser vedrørende elektroniske indkøb. Det Europæiske Fællesskab spillede en vigtig rolle under forhandlingerne. Den nuværende aftale er ikke afbalanceret, hverken med hensyn til proceduremæssige garantier eller dækningsområde. Vores hovedmålsætning var at udfylde hullerne og fjerne tvetydigheder. Vi ønskede at opnå bedre juridiske garantier for vores leverandører svarende til dem, der tilbydes under for ordning for hjemmemarkeder. Samtidig forsøgte vi at gøre den nye aftale mere attraktiv for udviklingslandene gennem nye specifikke foranstaltninger. Den endelige aftale om denne nye tekst er betinget af et vellykket resultat af de igangværende forhandlinger om markedsadgang. Også her er vi nødt til at rykke balancen til Fællesskabets fordel. Derfor skal den dækning, som vores partnere tilbyder i øjeblikket, udvides til at dække det niveau, som Fællesskabet har tilbudt, og den skal gøres mere ensartet. Vi ønsker alle, at vores virksomheder skal have bedre adgang til markederne for offentlige indkøb i andre lande. I sine konklusioner om Kommissionens meddelelse "Det globale Europa - I konkurrencen på verdensmarkedet" understregede Rådet, at vi skal opnå yderligere forbedringer af markedsadgangen i forhold til vores vigtigste handelspartnere, navnlig i forbindelse med offentlige indkøb. Fællesskabet har indgivet en omfattende anmodning og et tilbud, som vil give de øvrige GPA-parter alle nødvendige incitamenter til at tilbyde betydelige yderligere muligheder for offentlige indkøb. Hvis det ikke lykkes os at opnå bred tilslutning hos de øvrige GPA-parter, overvejer vi at træffe de nødvendige foranstaltninger for at tilpasse Fællesskabets forpligtelser i den nye GPA i overensstemmelse hermed. Hvis EU ikke opnår bedre adgang til markederne for offentlige indkøb i tredjelande, overvejer kommissær Mandelson og jeg et markedsåbningsinstrument, der kan forbedre EU's adgang. Situationen for vores SMV'er fortjener særlig opmærksomhed. De vil få særlig nytte af den nye tekst gennem indførelsen af regler om elektronisk indkøb, og hvis forhandlingerne lykkes, vil nogle parter også sænke tærsklerne. Men lad mig erindre Dem om, at aftalen drejer sig om temmelig store indkøbsaftaler, som navnlig varetages af store virksomheder. SMV'er har bestemt en vigtig rolle at spille, men især som underleverandører. Derfor har vi bedt de af vores GPA-partnere, der i øjeblikket har særlige undtagelsesbestemmelser for deres hjemlige SMV'er, om at opgive disse. Med hensyn til udsigten til at udvide aftalens geografiske dækningsområde er otte WTO-medlemmer på vej til at tiltræde den. Blandt disse er Jordan længst fremme. Kina har antydet, at man vil indlede tiltrædelsesforhandlinger i december, og efter mit besøg i landet sidste år er vi allerede i gang med at forberede denne vigtige tiltrædelse. Som allerede nævnt har Fællesskabet presset på for at opnå bedre betingelser for særbehandling og forskelsbehandling for udviklingslande. Jeg mener, at vi har opnået et godt resultat med skræddersyede nye regler, hvor der tages højde for disse landes særlige behov."@da²
lpv:translated text	"Fru talman! Frågan om en omförhandling av WTO:s avtal om offentlig upphandling (GPA) är viktig för EU eftersom det skulle ge våra företag framtida möjligheter utanför gemenskapen. I december 2006 kunde GPA:s parter, efter många år av långa och svåra förhandlingar, nå en preliminär överenskommelse om en ny reviderad text. Jag anser att detta är ett mycket viktigt resultat inom Doharundans nuvarande ram. Det visar att det fortfarande finns en politisk vilja att nå överenskommelser om känsliga frågor. Om vi lyckas är jag säker på att denna nya överenskommelse kommer att utgöra en milstolpe för internationell handel och skapa nya möjligheter för våra företag. Den nya texten skapar större klarhet och insyn och ger bättre garantier för likvärdig behandling inom upphandlingsförfarandena. Den omfattar för första gången bestämmelser för att sköta elektronisk upphandling. Europeiska gemenskapen spelade en viktig roll under förhandlingarna. Den befintliga överenskommelsen är obalanserad, både när det gäller garantier för förfarandet och förfarandets räckvidd. Våra huvudmål var att fylla luckorna och att avlägsna det som var tvetydigt. Vi ville uppnå bättre rättsliga garantier för våra leverantörer, i likhet med dem som erbjöds inom vårt interna system. Samtidigt strävade vi efter att göra det nya avtalet mer lockande för utvecklingsländerna genom nya specifika förfaringssätt. Den slutliga överenskommelsen om den nya texten förutsätter ett tillfredsställande resultat inom de pågående förhandlingarna om marknadstillträdet. Även i den här situationen är vi tvungna att återvinna balansen till gemenskapens fördel. Därför bör den räckvidd som våra partner för närvarande erbjuder utvidgas till den nivå som gemenskapen erbjuder, och den bör bli mer enhetlig. Vi vill alla att våra företag får ett förbättrat tillträde till främmande länders marknader för offentlig upphandling. Rådet betonade i sina senaste slutsatser om kommissionens meddelande ”Ett konkurrenskraftigt Europa i världen” att vi behöver åstadkomma ytterligare förbättringar när det gäller marknadstillträdet med våra framtida viktigaste handelspartner i fråga om offentlig upphandling. Gemenskapen har lagt fram omfattande förfrågningar och erbjudanden som kommer att ge övriga GPA-parter alla nödvändiga incitament för att skapa ytterligare goda upphandlingsmöjligheter. Om vi inte skulle lyckas få en väsentlig förbättring från övriga GPA-parter kommer vi följaktligen att överväga att vidta de åtgärder som krävs för att anpassa gemenskapens åtaganden till det nya avtalet om offentliga upphandling. För att förbättra EU:s tillträde till tredjeländers marknader för upphandling överväger kommissionsledamot Peter Mandelson och jag att ta fram ett marknadsöppnande instrument i syfte att öka EU:s tillträde. Frågan om våra små och medelstora företag förtjänar definitivt särskild uppmärksamhet. De kommer i synnerhet att gynnas av den nya texten genom införandet av regler om elektronisk upphandling och, om förhandlingarna avslutas framgångsrikt, genom sänkta tröskelvärden för vissa parter. Låt mig emellertid påminna er om att överenskommelsen snarare gäller stora upphandlingskontrakt, som huvudsakligen går till stora företag. De små och medelstora företagen kommer förvisso att ha en viktig roll att spela, men till största delen som underleverantörer. Därför har vi bett våra GPA-partner, som för närvarande upprätthåller särskilda undantag för sina nationella små och medelstora företag, att överge dessa undantag. När det gäller möjligheterna att utvidga avtalets geografiska räckvidd håller åtta WTO-medlemmar just på att ansluta sig. Bland dessa är Jordanien det land som har kommit längst. Kina har angivit att landet kommer att inleda anslutningsförhandlingar senast i december i år, och till följd av mitt besök där förra året håller vi redan på att förbereda denna viktiga anslutning. Som redan har nämnts har gemenskapen tryckt på för bättre bestämmelser när det gäller den särskilda och differentierade behandlingen av utvecklingsländer. Jag anser att vi har nått ett positivt resultat med skräddarsydda nya bestämmelser där man tar fullständig hänsyn till dessa länders särskilda behov."@sv²²
lpv:translated text	". Arvoisa puhemies, uudet neuvottelut julkisia hankintoja koskevasta WTO:n sopimuksesta, niin sanotusta GPA-sopimuksesta, ovat EU:lle tärkeät, sillä niiden pitäisi turvata yritystemme tulevaisuudennäkymät yhteisön ulkopuolella. Viime joulukuussa GPA-sopimuksen osapuolet pääsivät vuosia kestäneiden hankalien neuvottelujen jälkeen tilapäiseen sopimukseen uudesta tarkistetusta tekstistä. Pidän tätä huomattavana saavutuksena Dohan neuvottelukierroksen nykyvaiheessa. Se osoittaa, että poliittista tahtoa arkaluonteisten kysymysten ratkaisemiseksi on jäljellä. Olen varma siitä, että jos onnistumme, tästä uudesta sopimuksesta muodostuu kansainvälisen kaupan virstanpylväs, joka luo yhtiöillemme uusia mahdollisuuksia. Uudella tekstillä lisätään selkeyttä ja avoimuutta sekä annetaan paremmat takeet yhdenvertaisesta kohtelusta hankintamenettelyjen yhteydessä. Tekstissä on ensimmäisen kerran annettu määräyksiä sähköisistä hankintamenettelyistä. Euroopan yhteisöllä oli merkittävä rooli neuvotteluprosessissa. Nykyisessä sopimuksessa sekä menettelylliset takeet että soveltamisala ovat epätasapainossa. Tärkeimmät tavoitteemme olivat puutteiden korjaaminen ja moniselitteisyyksien poistaminen. Halusimme saada toimittajillemme paremmat oikeudelliset takeet, samankaltaiset kuin sisäisessä järjestelmässämme on. Samalla pyrimme uusilla erityistoimenpiteillä tekemään uudesta sopimuksesta kehitysmaille entistä houkuttelevamman. Lopullinen yhteisymmärrys uudesta tekstistä määräytyy sen mukaan, päästäänkö parhaillaan käytävissä markkinoillepääsyä koskevissa neuvotteluissa tyydyttävään lopputulokseen. Tässäkin tilanne on tasapainotettava uudelleen yhteisön hyväksi. Tästä syystä kumppaneidemme tarjoamaa nykyistä suojaa on laajennettava yhteisön tarjoaman suojan tasolle, ja sitä on yhdenmukaistettava. Me kaikki haluamme parantaa yritystemme pääsyä ulkomaisille hankintamarkkinoille. Neuvosto korosti komission tiedonannosta "Globaali Eurooppa kilpailijana maailmassa" äskettäin tekemissään päätelmissä, että meidän on edelleen parannettava markkinoillepääsyä tärkeimpien tulevien kauppakumppaniemme kanssa, eritoten julkisten hankintojen alalla. Yhteisö on esittänyt monitahoisen pyynnön ja tarjouksen, jossa annetaan GPA-sopimuksen muille osapuolille kaikki tarvittavat kannustimet lisätä tuntuvasti hankintamahdollisuuksia. Mikäli muut GPA-sopimuksen osapuolet eivät tee huomattavia parannuksia, harkitsemme tarvittavia toimenpiteitä muuttaaksemme yhteisön sitoumuksia uudessa GPA-sopimuksessa tämän mukaisesti. Ellei EU:n pääsy kolmansien maiden hankintamarkkinoille parane, komission jäsen Mandelson ja minä pohdimme välinettä, jolla markkinat voidaan avata EU:n markkinoillepääsyn edistämiseksi. Pk-yritystemme tilanteeseen on todellakin kiinnitettävä erityistä huomiota. Tilannetta parannetaan varsinkin uudella sopimuksella, jossa otetaan käyttöön sähköisiä hankintamenettelyjä koskevia sääntöjä ja, mikäli neuvottelut saadaan onnistuneesti päätökseen, madalletaan joidenkin sopimuspuolten asettamia kynnyksiä. Muistutan kuitenkin, että sopimuksessa käsitellään pääasiassa suuryritysten tekemiä kohtalaisen laajoja hankintasopimuksia. Pk-yritysten osuus on tietenkin tärkeä, mutta enimmäkseen alihankkijoina. Siksi olemme kehottaneet niitä GPA-sopimuksen osapuolia, jotka pitävät edelleen voimassa kotimaisia pk-yrityksiä koskevia erityispoikkeuksia, luopumaan niistä. Sopimuksen maantieteellisen soveltamisalan laajentamismahdollisuuksista totean, että kahdeksan WTO:n jäsentä on parhaillaan käymässä läpi liittymisprosessia. Niistä Jordania on kaikkein kehittynein. Kiina on ilmoittanut aloittavansa liittymisneuvottelut tämän vuoden joulukuuhun mennessä, ja viimevuotisen Kiinan-vierailuni tuloksena olemme jo valmistelemassa tätä tärkeää jäsenyyttä. Kuten jo mainitsin, yhteisö on vaatinut parempia määräyksiä kehitysmaiden erityis- ja erilliskohtelusta. Mielestäni olemme päässeet hyvään tulokseen räätälöidyillä uusilla säännöillä, joissa otetaan kattavasti huomioon kehitysmaiden erityistarpeet."@fi⁷
lpv:translated text	". Κυρία Πρόεδρε, το θέμα της επαναδιαπραγμάτευσης της συμφωνίας για τις δημόσιες συμβάσεις στο πλαίσιο του ΠΟΕ είναι σημαντικό για την Ευρώπη, καθώς θα προσφέρει στις εταιρείες μας μελλοντικές ευκαιρίες εκτός της Κοινότητας. Τον περασμένο Δεκέμβριο, ύστερα από πολλά χρόνια μακρών και δύσκολων διαπραγματεύσεων, τα συμβαλλόμενα μέρη πέτυχαν μια προσωρινή συμφωνία για ένα νέο αναθεωρημένο κείμενο. Θεωρώ ότι αυτό αποτελεί σημαντικό επίτευγμα στο ισχύον πλαίσιο του Γύρου της Ντόχα. Αποδεικνύει ότι η πολιτική βούληση για την επίτευξη συμφωνίας σχετικά με ευαίσθητα θέματα παραμένει ζωντανή. Είμαι βέβαιος ότι αν επιτύχουμε, αυτή η νέα συμφωνία θα αποτελέσει ορόσημο για το διεθνές εμπόριο και θα δημιουργήσει νέες ευκαιρίες για τις επιχειρήσεις μας. Το νέο κείμενο προβλέπει περισσότερη σαφήνεια και διαφάνεια, καθώς και καλύτερες εγγυήσεις για ίση μεταχείριση στις διαδικασίες δημόσιων συμβάσεων. Περιλαμβάνει, για πρώτη φορά, διατάξεις για τη διεξαγωγή ηλεκτρονικών δημόσιων συμβάσεων. Η Ευρωπαϊκή Κοινότητα διαδραμάτισε σημαντικό ρόλο κατά τη διάρκεια των διαπραγματεύσεων. Η ισχύουσα συμφωνία στερείται ισορροπίας, τόσο ως προς τις διαδικαστικές εγγυήσεις όσο και ως προς την κάλυψη. Οι βασικοί μας στόχοι ήταν να γεμίσουμε τα κενά και να εξαλείψουμε τις αμφισημίες. Θέλαμε να επιτύχουμε καλύτερες νομικές εγγυήσεις για τους προμηθευτές μας, παρόμοιες με αυτές που παρέχονται από το εσωτερικό καθεστώς μας. Ταυτόχρονα, επιδιώξαμε να καταστήσουμε τη νέα συμφωνία ελκυστικότερη για τις αναπτυσσόμενες χώρες μέσω νέων συγκεκριμένων μέτρων. Η τελική συμφωνία επί του νέου κειμένου θα εξαρτηθεί από το ικανοποιητικό αποτέλεσμα των διαπραγματεύσεων για την πρόσβαση στην αγορά, οι οποίες είναι σε εξέλιξη. Και εδώ, επίσης, πρέπει να ισορροπήσουμε εκ νέου την κατάσταση υπέρ της Κοινότητας. Για αυτό, η κάλυψη που παρέχουν επί του παρόντος οι εταίροι μας θα πρέπει να επεκταθεί στο επίπεδο που προσέφερε η Κοινότητα και θα πρέπει να είναι περισσότερο ομοιόμορφη. Όλοι θέλουμε να υπάρχει βελτιωμένη πρόσβαση για τις εταιρείες μας στις αγορές δημοσίων συμβάσεων ξένων χωρών. Το Συμβούλιο τόνισε στα πρόσφατα συμπεράσματά του σχετικά με την ανακοίνωση της Επιτροπής «Παγκόσμια Ευρώπη: ανταγωνιστική στον κόσμο» ότι πρέπει να επιτύχουμε περαιτέρω βελτιώσεις στην πρόσβαση στις αγορές με τους μελλοντικούς μεγάλους εμπορικούς εταίρους μας, δηλαδή στην αγορά των δημόσιων συμβάσεων. Η Κοινότητα υπέβαλε ένα ολοκληρωμένο αίτημα και μια προσφορά που θα παράσχουν στα άλλα συμβαλλόμενα μέρη όλα τα απαραίτητα κίνητρα για να προσφέρουν σημαντικές πρόσθετες ευκαιρίες συμβάσεων. Εάν δεν καταφέρουμε να επιτύχουμε ουσιαστική βελτίωση από τα άλλα συμβαλλόμενα μέρη, θα εξετάσουμε το ενδεχόμενο λήψης των αναγκαίων μέτρων για να προσαρμόσουμε αναλόγως τις κοινοτικές δεσμεύσεις στη νέα συμφωνία. Απουσία βελτιωμένης πρόσβασης για την ΕΕ στις αγορές δημοσίων συμβάσεων τρίτων χωρών, ο Επίτροπος Mandelson και εγώ μελετούμε ένα μέσο ανοίγματος της αγοράς για την ενίσχυση της κοινοτικής πρόσβασης. Το θέμα των ΜΜΕ ασφαλώς χρήζει ιδιαίτερης προσοχής. Θα ωφεληθούν ιδιαίτερα από το νέο κείμενο, με τη θέσπιση κανόνων για τις ηλεκτρονικές δημόσιες συμβάσεις και, αν οι διαπραγματεύσεις ολοκληρωθούν επιτυχώς, με τη μείωση των ορίων ορισμένων μερών. Ωστόσο, επιτρέψτε μου να σας υπενθυμίσω ότι η συμφωνία αφορά αρκετά μεγάλες δημόσιες συμβάσεις που κυρίως αναλαμβάνονται από μεγάλες εταιρείες. Οι ΜΜΕ ασφαλώς μπορούν να διαδραματίσουν σημαντικό ρόλο, αλλά κυρίως ως υπεργολάβοι. Γι’ αυτό ζητήσαμε από τους εταίρους μας, που διατηρούν επί του παρόντος ειδικές παρεκκλίσεις για τις εγχώριες ΜΜΕ, να τις εγκαταλείψουν. Όσον αφορά τις προοπτικές της επέκτασης του γεωγραφικού πεδίου εφαρμογής της συμφωνίας, οκτώ μέλη του ΠΟΕ βρίσκονται σε διαδικασία προσχώρησης σε αυτή. Από αυτά, η Ιορδανία έχει προχωρήσει περισσότερο. Η Κίνα ανέφερε ότι θα ξεκινήσει διαπραγματεύσεις προσχώρησης έως τον Δεκέμβριο του τρέχοντος έτους και, μετά την επίσκεψή μου εκεί πέρυσι, προετοιμάζουμε ήδη αυτήν τη σημαντική προσχώρηση. Όπως ήδη αναφέρθηκε, η Κοινότητα άσκησε πιέσεις για καλύτερες διατάξεις σχετικά με την ειδική και διαφορετική μεταχείριση για τις αναπτυσσόμενες χώρες. Πιστεύω ότι επιτύχαμε ένα καλό αποτέλεσμα με προσαρμοσμένους νέους κανόνες που λαμβάνουν πλήρως υπόψη τις συγκεκριμένες ανάγκες τους."@el¹⁰
lpv:translated text	". Mevrouw de Voorzitter, de kwestie van de heronderhandelingen in de WTO over de Overeenkomst inzake overheidsopdrachten, de zogeheten GPA, is belangrijk voor Europa, aangezien deze voor onze bedrijven de deur moeten openen naar nieuwe groeimogelijkheden buiten de Gemeenschap. Na vele jaren van lange en moeizame onderhandelingen hebben de GPA-partijen afgelopen december een voorlopig akkoord bereikt over een nieuwe herziene tekst. Ik vind dat een belangrijk resultaat in de huidige context van de Doha-ronde. Hieruit blijkt immers dat de politieke wil nog steeds aanwezig is om tot overeenstemming te komen over gevoelige kwesties. Als wij het onderhandelingstraject met succes afronden, heb ik er alle vertrouwen in dat deze nieuwe overeenkomst een mijlpaal zal blijken te zijn voor de internationale handel en dat daardoor ook nieuwe mogelijkheden voor het Europese bedrijfsleven worden gecreëerd. De nieuwe tekst zorgt niet alleen voor meer duidelijkheid en doorzichtigheid, maar ook voor betere garanties voor een gelijke behandeling bij de aanbesteding van overheidsopdrachten. Voor de eerste keer bevat de tekst nu ook een bepaling over een elektronische aanbestedingsprocedure. De Europese Gemeenschap heeft een belangrijke rol gespeeld bij de onderhandelingen. De bestaande overeenkomst is onevenwichtig, zowel wat de procedurele garanties als de dekking betreft. Onze belangrijkste doelstellingen waren dan ook gericht op het opvullen van de leemten en het wegnemen van de onduidelijkheden. Wij hebben gestreefd naar betere juridische garanties voor onze leveranciers; garanties die vergelijkbaar moeten zijn met de garanties die wij voor onze interne programma’s hanteren. Tegelijkertijd hebben wij getracht om de nieuwe overeenkomst via nieuwe specifieke maatregelen aantrekkelijker te maken voor ontwikkelingslanden. Of er ook definitieve overeenstemming over de nieuwe tekst zal worden bereikt, is afhankelijk van de vraag of de lopende onderhandelingen over de toegankelijkheid van de markt een bevredigend resultaat opleveren. Ook op dat vlak dienen wij voor de Gemeenschap een evenwichtigere situatie te creëren. Dat betekent dat de dekking die onze partners op dit moment voorstaan, uitgebreid dient te worden tot het niveau dat de Gemeenschap heeft voorgesteld. Ook op dit punt dient de uniformiteit te worden verbeterd. Wij willen allemaal een betere toegang voor onze bedrijven tot de buitenlandse markten voor overheidsopdrachten. In zijn recente conclusies over de mededeling van de Commissie “Europa als wereldspeler: Wereldwijd concurreren” heeft de Raad benadrukt dat wij op het gebied van de markttoegang extra en betere regelingen dienen te treffen met onze toekomstige belangrijkste handelspartners. Dat geldt met name voor overheidsopdrachten. De Gemeenschap heeft een uitgebreid vraag-en-aanbodpakket op tafel gelegd dat de andere GPA-partijen de nodige prikkels zal geven om aanzienlijke extra mogelijkheden te bieden bij de aanbesteding van overheidsopdrachten. Indien de andere GPA-partners ons echter onvoldoende tegemoet komen, zullen wij overwegen welke maatregelen noodzakelijk zijn om de communautaire toezeggingen in de nieuwe GPA dienovereenkomstig aan te passen. Indien er geen verbetering optreedt in de toegang van de EU tot de markten voor overheidsopdrachten van derde landen, zullen commissaris Mandelson en ik overwegen welk instrument wij in kunnen zetten om het openstellen van de markten voor de EU te bevorderen. De mogelijkheden voor KMO’s verdienen absoluut speciale aandacht. Met name de kleine en middelgrote ondernemingen zullen profijt hebben van de nieuwe tekst dankzij de invoering van een elektronische aanbestedingsprocedure en, indien de onderhandelingen succesvol worden afgerond, een verlaging van de drempels van een aantal GPA-partijen. Ik wil er in dat verband echter wel op wijzen dat de overeenkomst betrekking heeft op vrij omvangrijke aanbestedingscontracten, die meestentijds uitsluitend met grote bedrijven gesloten zullen worden. De KMO’s kunnen ongetwijfeld een belangrijke rol spelen, maar dan vooral als onderaannemers. Daarom hebben wij onze GPA-partners die op dit moment specifieke uitzonderingen voor hun binnenlandse KMO’s hanteren, verzocht om daar vanaf te stappen. Wat de uitbreiding van de geografische dekking van de overeenkomst betreft, kan ik meedelen dat acht WTO-landen bezig zijn met het doorlopen van de toetredingsprocedure. Jordanië is het land dat op dit gebied het verst is gevorderd. China heeft aangegeven dat het uiterlijk in december van dit jaar de toetredingsonderhandelingen in gang wil zetten. Na mijn bezoek van vorig jaar aan dat land zijn wij reeds begonnen met de voorbereidingen voor deze belangrijke toetreding. Zoals gezegd, heeft de Commissie sterk aangedrongen op betere maatregelen voor een speciale en differentiële behandeling van ontwikkelingslanden. Naar mijn idee hebben wij op dat punt een goed resultaat bereikt op basis van op maat gemaakte nieuwe regels waarin volledig rekening wordt gehouden met de specifieke behoeften van ontwikkelingslanden."@nl³
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@lv¹³
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	". Frau Präsidentin! Die Frage der Neuaushandlung des WTO-Übereinkommens über das öffentliche Beschaffungswesen, das GPA, ist für Europa wichtig, denn es soll künftige Geschäftsmöglichkeiten für unsere Unternehmen außerhalb der Gemeinschaft eröffnen. Nach vielen Jahren langer und schwieriger Verhandlungen haben die GPA-Parteien im letzten Dezember eine vorläufige Einigung zu einem neu überarbeiteten Text erzielt. Angesichts der derzeitigen Lage bei der Doha-Runde sehe ich dies als wichtigen Erfolg an. Er zeigt, dass der politische Wille, Einvernehmen in schwierigen Fragen zu erzielen, nach wie vor besteht. Ich bin zuversichtlich, dass dieses neue Übereinkommen, wenn wir erfolgreich sind, einen Meilenstein für den Welthandel darstellen und unseren Unternehmen neue Chancen eröffnen wird. Der neue Text sorgt für mehr Klarheit und Transparenz sowie für bessere Garantien für die Gleichbehandlung bei der Auftragsvergabe. Er beinhaltet erstmals Bestimmungen zur Durchführung einer elektronischen Vergabe. Die Europäische Gemeinschaft hat bei den Verhandlungen eine wichtige Rolle gespielt. Das bestehende Übereinkommen ist unausgewogen, sowohl bei den Verfahrensgarantien als auch beim Geltungsbereich. Unser Hauptziel bestand darin, die Lücken zu schließen und Unklarheiten auszuräumen. Wir wollten bessere Rechtsgarantien für unsere Lieferanten erwirken, vergleichbar denen, die mit unserer innergemeinschaftlichen Regelung geboten werden. Gleichzeitig war es unser Anliegen, das neue Übereinkommen mittels neuer spezifischer Maßnahmen attraktiver für Entwicklungsländer zu gestalten. Die endgültige Einigung über den neuen Text hängt von einem zufrieden stellenden Ausgang der laufenden Verhandlungen über den Marktzugang ab. Auch hier müssen wir eine Neuausrichtung im Sinne der Gemeinschaft herbeiführen. Deshalb muss der Geltungsbereich, den unsere Partner derzeit bieten, auf den Stand erweitert werden, den die Gemeinschaft bietet, und er sollte einheitlicher sein. Wir alle wollen einen verbesserten Zugang unserer Unternehmen zu den Beschaffungsmärkten im Ausland. Der Rat hat in seinen jüngsten Schlussfolgerungen zur Kommissionsmitteilung „Ein wettbewerbsfähiges Europa in einer globalen Welt“ hervorgehoben, dass es insbesondere im Bereich des öffentlichen Beschaffungswesens weiterer Verbesserungen des Zugangs zu den Märkten unserer künftigen wichtigsten Handelspartner bedarf. Die Gemeinschaft hat ausführliche Forderungen und Angebote vorgelegt, sodass den übrigen GPA-Partnern die nötigen Anreize geboten werden, um umfangreiche zusätzliche Ausschreibungen durchzuführen. Sollten uns die übrigen GPA-Parteien keine grundlegenden Verbesserungen in Aussicht stellen, werden wir die erforderlichen Maßnahmen in Erwägung ziehen, um die Gemeinschaftsverpflichtungen im neuen GPA entsprechend anzupassen. Für den Fall, dass sich der Zugang der EU zu den Beschaffungsmärkten in Drittstaaten nicht verbessert, ziehen Kommissar Mandelson und ich ein Marktöffnungsinstrument zur Förderung dieses Zugangs in Betracht. Natürlich verdient die Sache unserer KMU besondere Aufmerksamkeit. Hier ist der neue Text speziell von Nutzen, mit der Einführung von Vorschriften zur elektronischen Vergabe und – bei einem erfolgreichen Abschluss der Verhandlungen – mit dem Senken der Schwellen in einigen Mitgliedstaaten. Ich möchte Sie jedoch daran erinnern, dass es in dem Übereinkommen um eher große Beschaffungsaufträge geht, die hauptsächlich von großen Konzernen übernommen werden. KMU spielen sicher eine wichtige Rolle, aber überwiegend als Subunternehmer. Darum haben wir unsere GPA-Partner, bei denen derzeit spezielle Ausnahmeregelungen für ihre nationalen KMU gelten, diese aufzuheben. Mit der Aussicht auf eine Ausweitung des geografischen Geltungsbereichs des Übereinkommens haben acht WTO-Mitglieder die Beitrittsverhandlungen aufgenommen. Unter ihnen ist Jordanien am weitesten fortgeschritten. China hat angezeigt, dass es bis zum kommenden Dezember Beitrittsverhandlungen einleiten will, und seit meinem China-Besuch im vergangenen Jahr bereiten wir diesen wichtigen Beitritt bereits vor. Wie bereits erwähnt, hat sich die Gemeinschaft für bessere Bestimmungen zur differenzierten Sonderbehandlung für Entwicklungsländer eingesetzt. Wir haben meines Erachtens ein gutes Ergebnis mit maßgeschneiderten neuen Regeln erzielt, die deren besonderen Bedürfnissen voll und ganz gerecht werden."@de⁹
lpv:spoken text	". Madam President, the issue of the renegotiation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, known as the GPA, is important for Europe as it should provide our companies with future opportunities outside the Community. Last December, after many years of long and difficult negotiations, the GPA parties reached a provisional understanding on a new revised text. I consider this to be a major achievement in the current context of the Doha Round. It demonstrates that the political will to reach an understanding on sensitive issues remains alive. I am confident that if we succeed, this new agreement will constitute a milestone for international trade and create new opportunities for our companies. The new text provides for more clarity and transparency, as well as better guarantees for equal treatment in the procurement procedures. It includes, for the first time, provisions for conducting electronic procurement. The European Community played an important role during the negotiations. The existing agreement is unbalanced, both in terms of procedural guarantees and coverage. Our main objectives were to fill the gaps and to eliminate ambiguities. We wanted to obtain better legal guarantees for our suppliers, similar to those offered by our internal regime. At the same time we sought to make the new agreement more attractive for developing countries via new specific measures. The final agreement on the new text is subject to a satisfactory outcome of the market access negotiations which are ongoing. Here as well, we need to rebalance the situation in favour of the Community. Hence the coverage our partners currently offer should be extended to the level the Community has offered and it should be more uniform. We all want to see improved access for our companies to foreign countries’ procurement markets. The Council emphasised in its recent conclusions on the Commission’s communication ‘Global Europe – Competing in the World’ that we need to achieve additional improvements in market access with our future major trading partners, namely in public procurement. The Community has submitted a comprehensive request and offer which will give the other GPA parties all the necessary incentives to offer significant additional procurement opportunities. Should we fail to get a substantial improvement from other GPA parties, we will consider taking the necessary measures to adapt the Community commitments in the new GPA accordingly. In the absence of improved access for the EU to third-country procurement markets, Commissioner Mandelson and I are reflecting on a market-opening instrument to enhance EU access. The case of our SMEs certainly deserves particular attention. It will specifically benefit from the new text, with the introduction of rules on electronic procurement and, if negotiations are completed successfully, the lowering of thresholds of some parties. However, let me remind you that the agreement deals with rather large procurement contracts which are mainly undertaken by big companies. SMEs certainly have an important role to play, but mostly as subcontractors. This is why we have asked our GPA partners who currently maintain specific derogations for their domestic SMEs to abandon them. On the prospects of extending the geographical scope of the agreement, eight WTO members are in the process of acceding to it. Among those, Jordan is the most advanced. China has indicated that it will start accession negotiations by December this year and, following my visit there last year, we are already preparing this important accession. As already mentioned, the Community has pushed for better provisions on the special and differential treatment for developing countries. I believe we have achieved a good result with tailor-made new rules that fully take their specific needs into account."@en⁴
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Charlie McCreevy,"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Member of the Commission"^{18,5,20,15,1,19,14,16,11,11,13,4}
lpv:translated text	"Senhora Presidente, a renegociação do Acordo relativo aos Contratos Públicos, abreviadamente designado por ACP, no âmbito da Organização Mundial do Comércio, é uma questão importante para a União Europeia, já que deverá futuramente proporcionar às nossas empresas novas oportunidades fora do espaço europeu. No passado mês de Dezembro, após longos anos de complexas negociações, os Estados participantes no ACP chegaram a um consenso provisório em relação a uma nova versão, devidamente reformulada, do acordo em vigor. Em minha opinião, este foi um passo importante no quadro do actual ciclo de negociações de Doha, que além do mais demonstrou que permanece viva a vontade política de chegar a acordo em relação a questões particularmente sensíveis. Estou confiante em que, se formos bem sucedidos, este acordo será um marco importante para o comércio internacional e abrirá novas oportunidades para as nossas empresas. A referida nova versão oferece mais clareza e transparência, para além de garantias reforçadas em matéria de igualdade de tratamento nos procedimentos relativos aos contratos públicos. Inclui, pela primeira vez, disposições em matéria de contratação pública por via electrónica. A União Europeia desempenhou um papel de relevo durante as negociações. O acordo actual peca por ausência de imparcialidade, tanto no que respeita às garantias processuais como ao grau de abertura. Pugnámos pelos nossos objectivos, que consistiam, essencialmente, em colmatar as lacunas e eliminar as ambiguidades existentes. Pretendíamos obter melhores garantias jurídicas para os nossos fornecedores, semelhantes às oferecidas pelo nosso regime interno. Procurámos, em simultâneo, tornar o novo acordo mais atractivo para os países em desenvolvimento através de novas medidas específicas. O acordo definitivo sobre a nova versão depende agora da conclusão satisfatória das negociações em curso sobre o acesso aos mercados. Também aqui teremos de reequilibrar a situação em favor da União Europeia. Por outras palavras, o grau de abertura que os nossos parceiros comerciais actualmente oferecem às empresas europeias terá de ser alargado – por forma a corresponder ao grau de abertura que a União lhes tem oferecido - e deverá ser mais uniforme. Todos desejamos que as empresas europeias tenham um maior acesso aos mercados de contratos públicos de países estrangeiros. Nas suas recentes conclusões sobre a Comunicação da Comissão "Uma Europa competitiva numa economia globalizada", o Conselho colocou a tónica na necessidade de realizarmos mais avanços em matéria de acesso aos mercados dos nossos futuros principais parceiros comerciais, nomeadamente no capítulo dos contratos de direito público. A União Europeia apresentou uma proposta de negociação abrangente que oferece às outras partes no ACP todos os necessários incentivos para que estas, por sua vez, ofereçam à UE significativas oportunidades acrescidas no domínio dos contratos públicos. No caso de não obtermos melhorias substanciais nessa matéria da parte dos outros participantes no ACP, teremos de ponderar tomar as necessárias medidas para adaptar, em conformidade, os compromissos da UE no âmbito do novo Acordo relativo aos Contratos Públicos. Na ausência de garantias de um acesso acrescido das empresas comunitárias aos mercados de contratos públicos de países terceiros, o Senhor Comissário Mandelson e eu próprio estamos a ponderar a criação de um instrumento propiciador da abertura dos mercados, a fim de reforçar o acesso por parte da UE. O caso das nossas PME merece efectivamente uma atenção especial. À luz da nova versão do acordo, que introduz novas disposições em matéria de contratação por via electrónica, as nossas pequenas e médias empresas saem particularmente beneficiadas. Além disso, se as negociações tiverem um desfecho satisfatório, elas beneficiarão igualmente da redução dos limiares impostos por alguns países. Contudo, cumpre-me recordar-vos de que o ACP tem por objecto contratos públicos de dimensão apreciável, os quais são normalmente executados por grandes empresas. As PME têm um importante papel a desempenhar, é certo, mas sobretudo como subcontratantes. Foi por essa razão que solicitámos aos nossos parceiros no ACP que presentemente mantêm derrogações específicas a favor das suas PME nacionais que abandonassem tais medidas. Relativamente às perspectivas de alargamento da cobertura geográfica do acordo, oito membros da OMC estão neste momento em vias de aderir ao mesmo. De entre estes, a Jordânia é o que se encontra mais avançado no processo de adesão. A China fez saber que dará início às negociações de adesão até Dezembro deste ano e, na sequência da minha visita o ano passado àquele país, já iniciámos os preparativos para esta importante adesão. Como já aqui foi referido, a União fez pressão para que fossem introduzidas no acordo disposições mais favoráveis no respeitante ao tratamento especial e diferenciado aplicável aos países em desenvolvimento. A meu ver, conseguimos um bom resultado, traduzido em novas regras talhadas à medida das necessidades específicas destes países."@pt¹⁷
lpv:translated text	". Señora Presidenta, la cuestión de la renegociación del Acuerdo sobre Contratación Pública, llamado ACP, es importante para Europa porque brindará a nuestras empresas oportunidades futuras fuera de la Comunidad. El pasado mes de diciembre, tras muchos años de largas y difíciles negociaciones, las partes del ACP alcanzaron un acuerdo provisional sobre un nuevo texto revisado. Creo que se trata de un gran logro en el contexto actual de la Ronda de Doha. Demuestra que la voluntad política de alcanzar un acuerdo sobre cuestiones delicadas sigue viva. Confío en que si tenemos éxito, este nuevo acuerdo constituya un hito para el comercio internacional y cree nuevas oportunidades para nuestras empresas. El nuevo texto proporciona más claridad y transparencia, así como mejores garantías de un trato igualitario en los procedimientos de adjudicación de contratos. Por primera vez incluye disposiciones sobre la contratación por vía electrónica. La Comunidad Europea ha desempeñado un importante papel durante las negociaciones. El acuerdo vigente no es equilibrado, tanto desde el punto de vista de las garantías de procedimiento como de cobertura. Nuestros principales objetivos eran llenar lagunas y eliminar ambigüedades. Queríamos obtener mejores garantías jurídicas para nuestros proveedores, similares a las que ofrece nuestro régimen interno. Al mismo tiempo, a base de nuevas medidas específicas intentamos que el nuevo acuerdo sea más atractivo para los países en desarrollo. El acuerdo final sobre el nuevo texto está sujeto a un resultado satisfactorio de las negociaciones de acceso al mercado. En este terreno también hemos de reequilibrar la situación a favor de la Comunidad. Así pues, la cobertura que nuestros socios ofrecen actualmente debería extenderse al nivel que ha ofrecido la Comunidad y debería ser más uniforme. Todos queremos que nuestras empresas tengan un mejor acceso a los mercados de contratación pública de los países extranjeros. El Consejo ha subrayado en sus recientes conclusiones sobre la comunicación de la Comisión «Europa Global – Competir en el Mundo» que hemos de conseguir mejoras adicionales del acceso a los mercados de nuestros principales socios comerciales futuros, concretamente en el ámbito de la contratación pública. La Comisión ha presentado una petición y una proposición de carácter amplio que proporcionará a las demás partes del ACP todos los incentivos necesarios para ofrecer importantes oportunidades de contratación pública adicionales. Si no conseguimos que otras partes del ACP acepten una mejora sustancial, estudiaremos la posibilidad de tomar las medidas necesarias para adaptar los compromisos de la Comunidad al nuevo ACP. A falta de un mejor acceso de la UE a los mercados de contratación pública de países terceros, el Comisario Mandelson y yo estamos reflexionando sobre un instrumento de apertura al mercado para mejorar el acceso de la UE. El caso de nuestras PYME merece especial atención. Se beneficiarán específicamente del nuevo texto con la introducción de normas de contratación pública electrónica y, si las negociaciones concluyen con éxito, con la reducción de los umbrales de algunas partes. No obstante, permítanme recordarles que el acuerdo se refiere a grandes contratos públicos que emprenden principalmente las grandes empresas. Sin duda, las PYME desempeñan un papel importante, pero principalmente como subcontratistas. Por eso hemos pedido a los socios ACP que actualmente mantienen derogaciones específicas para sus PYME nacionales que las abandonen. Con vistas a ampliar el alcance geográfico del acuerdo, ocho miembros de la OMC están en proceso de adherirse al mismo. Entre ellos, Jordania es el que está más avanzado. China ha indicado que comenzará las negociaciones de adhesión en diciembre de este año y, tras mi visita a ese país el año pasado, ya estamos preparando esta importante adhesión. Como ya se ha mencionado, la Comunidad ha presionado para mejorar las disposiciones sobre el trato especial y diferenciado de los países en desarrollo. Creo que hemos conseguido un buen resultado con nuevas normas que tengan plenamente en cuenta sus necesidades específicas."@es²¹
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"partner"¹²
lpv:translated text	"Signora Presidente, la questione della rinegoziazione dell’accordo OMC sugli appalti pubblici, noto come AAP, è importante per l’Europa poiché dovrebbe fornire alle nostre imprese future opportunità al di fuori della Comunità. Dopo molti anni di negoziati lunghi e difficili, lo scorso dicembre le parti contraenti dell’AAP hanno raggiunto un’intesa provvisoria su un nuovo testo riveduto. Lo considero un risultato notevole nell’attuale contesto del . Dimostra che sussiste la volontà politica di raggiungere un’intesa su questioni sensibili. Sono fiducioso che, se otterremo i risultati attesi, questo nuovo accordo costituirà una pietra miliare per il commercio internazionale e creerà nuove opportunità per le nostre imprese. Il nuovo testo offre maggiore chiarezza e trasparenza, nonché migliori garanzie per la parità di trattamento nelle procedure di appalto. Include, per la prima volta, disposizioni per lo svolgimento di gare d’appalto per via elettronica. La Comunità europea ha svolto un ruolo importante durante i negoziati. L’accordo esistente è squilibrato, sia in termini di garanzie procedurali sia di copertura. I nostri principali obiettivi erano colmare le lacune ed eliminare le ambiguità. Volevamo ottenere migliori garanzie giuridiche per i nostri fornitori, simili a quelle offerte dal nostro regime interno. Nel contempo abbiamo cercato di rendere il nuovo accordo più invitante per i paesi in via di sviluppo attraverso nuove misure specifiche. L’accordo finale sul nuovo testo è subordinato a un esito soddisfacente dei negoziati in corso per l’accesso ai mercati. Anche in questo caso dobbiamo riequilibrare la situazione a favore della Comunità. La copertura attualmente offerta dai nostri dovrebbe quindi essere estesa allo stesso livello offerto dalla Comunità e dovrebbe inoltre essere più uniforme. Noi tutti vogliamo un migliore accesso per le nostre imprese ai mercati degli appalti dei paesi terzi. Il Consiglio ha sottolineato nelle sue recenti conclusioni sulla comunicazione della Commissione “Europa globale: Competere nel mondo” che dobbiamo realizzare ulteriori miglioramenti nell’accesso ai mercati con i nostri principali futuri commerciali, in particolare negli appalti pubblici. La Comunità ha presentato una richiesta e un’offerta esaustive che daranno alle altre parti contraenti dell’AAP tutti gli incentivi necessari per offrire ulteriori significative opportunità di appalto. Se non dovessimo ottenere un miglioramento sostanziale dalle altre parti contraenti dell’AAP, esamineremo l’opportunità di adottare le misure necessarie per adeguare di conseguenza gli impegni della Comunità nel nuovo AAP. In assenza di un migliore accesso per l’Unione europea ai mercati degli appalti di paesi terzi, il Commissario Mandelson e io stiamo riflettendo su uno strumento di apertura dei mercati per potenziare l’accesso dell’UE. La situazione delle nostre PMI certamente merita particolare attenzione. Esse trarranno beneficio in modo specifico dal nuovo testo, con l’introduzione di regole in materia di appalti elettronici e, se i negoziati saranno completati con successo, l’abbassamento delle soglie di alcune parti. Comunque, vorrei ricordarvi che l’accordo riguarda contratti d’appalto di entità piuttosto grande, conclusi principalmente da grandi imprese. Le PMI hanno certamente un importante ruolo da svolgere, ma soprattutto come subappaltatori. Per questa ragione abbiamo chiesto ai nostri dell’AAP che attualmente mantengono deroghe specifiche per le rispettive PMI nazionali di rinunciarvi. Riguardo alle prospettive di estendere la portata geografica dell’accordo, sono in fase di adesione otto membri dell’OMC. Fra questi, la Giordania è nella fase più avanzata. La Cina ha indicato che avvierà i negoziati di adesione a dicembre di quest’anno e, dopo la mia visita dell’anno scorso, stiamo già preparando questa importante adesione. Come è già stato detto, la Comunità ha insistito per ottenere disposizioni migliori in materia di trattamento speciale e differenziato per i paesi in via di sviluppo. A mio avviso abbiamo conseguito un buon risultato con nuove regole che tengono pienamente conto delle loro specifiche necessità."@it¹²
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"ad hoc"¹²
lpv:translated text	"Madame la Présidente, la question de la renégociation de l’accord de l’OMC sur les marchés publics, mieux connu sous le nom d’AMP, est importante pour l’Europe, car cet accord devrait offrir des occasions à nos entreprises en dehors de la Communauté. En décembre dernier, après bien des années de négociations longues et difficiles, les parties à l’AMP sont parvenues à une entente provisoire sur une nouvelle révision du texte. C’est pour moi un résultat majeur dans le contexte actuel du cycle de Doha, qui montre que la volonté politique de parvenir à une entente concernant des questions sensibles est toujours présente. Je pense vraiment que, si nous réussissons, ce nouvel accord constituera une pierre angulaire du commerce international et créera de nouvelles occasions pour nos entreprises. Le nouveau texte apporte plus de clarté et de transparence, ainsi que de meilleures garanties de traitement égal dans les procédures de marchés publics. Pour la première fois, il inclut des dispositions concernant les marchés publics par voie électronique. La Communauté européenne a joué un rôle important durant les négociations. L’accord existant est déséquilibré à la fois en termes de garanties de procédure et de couverture. Nos principaux objectifs étaient de combler les fossés et d’éliminer les ambiguïtés. Nous voulions obtenir de meilleures garanties juridiques pour nos fournisseurs, identiques à celles qui sont offertes par notre régime interne. En même temps, nous avons cherché à rendre le nouvel accord plus attrayant pour les pays en développement à travers de nouvelles mesures spécifiques. L’accord final sur le nouveau texte dépend d’un résultat satisfaisant des négociations actuellement en cours concernant l’accès aux marchés. Ici aussi, nous devons rééquilibrer la situation en faveur de la Communauté. C’est pourquoi la couverture que nos partenaires nous offrent actuellement devrait être étendue au niveau offert par la Communauté et elle devrait être plus uniforme. Nous voulons tous que nos entreprises bénéficient d’un meilleur accès aux marchés publics de pays étrangers. Le Conseil a souligné, dans ses récentes conclusions sur la communication de la Commission «Une Europe compétitive dans une économie mondialisée», que nous devons obtenir des améliorations supplémentaires en matière d’accès au marché avec nos futurs grands partenaires commerciaux, à savoir dans les marchés publics. La Communauté a introduit une requête et une offre complète qui fournira aux autres parties de l’AMP toutes les incitations voulues pour offrir de nouvelles occasions significatives de marchés publics. Si nous ne parvenons pas à obtenir une amélioration substantielle de la part des autres parties de l’AMP, nous envisagerons d’adopter les mesures nécessaires pour adapter en conséquence les engagements de la Communauté dans le nouvel accord. À défaut d’un meilleur accès de l’Union européenne aux marchés publics des pays tiers, le commissaire Mandelson et moi-même réfléchissons à un instrument d’ouverture des marchés qui améliore l’accès de l’UE. Le cas de nos PME mérite certainement une attention particulière. Elles profiteront spécifiquement du nouveau texte, avec l’introduction de règles concernant les marchés publics par voie électronique et, si les négociations aboutissent, l’abaissement des seuils de quelques parties. Néanmoins, permettez-moi de vous rappeler que l’accord traite de marchés publics relativement imposants, qui concernent principalement les grandes entreprises. Les PME ont certainement un rôle important à jouer, mais surtout en tant que sous-traitants. C’est pourquoi nous avons demandé à nos partenaires de l’AMP qui conservent actuellement des dérogations spécifiques pour leurs PME nationales de les abandonner. Quant aux perspectives d’extension de la portée géographique de l’accord, huit membres de l’OMC sont en passe d’y adhérer. Parmi ceux-ci, la Jordanie est le pays le plus avancé. La Chine a indiqué qu’elle entamera les négociations d’adhésion d’ici décembre prochain et, à la suite de ma visite dans ce pays l’année dernière, nous préparons déjà cette adhésion importante. Comme cela a déjà été mentionné, la Communauté a fait pression pour de meilleures dispositions concernant le traitement spécial et différencié à réserver aux pays en développement. Je crois que nous avons obtenu un bon résultat avec de nouvelles règles taillées sur mesure qui prennent tout à fait en considération leurs besoins spécifiques."@fr⁸
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech⁶
dcterms:Date	"2007-02-01"^^xsd:date⁶
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Acordul privind achiziţiile publice (AAP) (dezbatere)⁶
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language⁶
lpv:document identification number	"en.20070201.4.4-026"⁶
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2007-02-01-Speech-4-027⁶
lpv:speaker	lp:Charlie McCreevy⁶