Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-02-01-Speech-4-025"
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"en.20070201.4.4-025"2
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".
Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are putting this oral question on the renegotiation of the Government Procurement Agreement, which will end in March, because we are at a crucial moment. Furthermore, in view of the importance of that agreement and its period in force, which will once again be ten or twelve years, it became necessary to raise the issue with the Commission here in Parliament.
In view of the lack of reciprocal arrangements, the disadvantages faced by European SMEs and their importance in terms of the main objectives of the Lisbon Strategy, we would call upon the Commission to demand that the other parties in the negotiation remove their exceptions or, if that is not possible, to accept our application of an exception of this same kind in favour of European SMEs. In any event, we need that kind of reciprocal arrangement since European companies are currently at a disadvantage.
I would therefore ask the Commission to tell us how the negotiations are progressing, particularly with regard to the issues that I have raised and those referred to in the text of our question. I would also ask the Commission to take note of the concerns expressed by the European Parliament and to take them into account in its negotiations in Geneva.
The government procurement markets are becoming increasingly important in the world, in view of their volume, which may be up to 25% of world GDP and, furthermore, because they represent a comparative advantage for the European Union, since at the moment we can be competitive in this sector compared to the competition that we are facing from other countries in other sectors, such as agriculture and industry. If we want to adapt to globalisation, therefore, it is important that the European Union develop the sectors in which it can be competitive internationally and thereby create fair and favourable conditions for European companies.
In most countries, these markets are reserved for national companies, which is one of the main non-tariff barriers to international trade. There are two aspects in this renegotiation that I would stress in particular. Firstly, the geographical extension of this agreement, with the entry of significant players, such as China and the developing countries, and, secondly, the need to ensure fair, balanced and reciprocal conditions for the companies of the different countries.
With regard to the first point, the greater the geographical area covered by this agreement on government procurement the more valid it is. Parliament therefore wishes to know whether any new countries are interested in signing up to the agreement in the short term, and particularly whether we can expect substantial commitments from China in relation to the opening up of its public markets. Let us not forget that China committed itself to opening up its government procurement market – which largely remains closed, or has requirements that are unacceptable to European companies – and to beginning negotiations in 2008 on accession to the Government Procurement Agreement, following its accession to the World Trade Organisation.
Secondly, with regard to fair and reciprocal conditions, we must remember that the European Union's public markets are already very much opened up to international competition. This has considerable advantages for the public bodies awarding contracts, since this openness gives them greater choice and therefore makes it possible for them to find better quality goods and services at lower cost. Let us not forget, however, that this may harm European companies in cases where foreign competitors are preferred.
The Union’s trade policy is geared towards greater opening up of all aspects of the international markets. The solution is not therefore to close the public markets to foreign companies. For this reason, we have the legitimate right to demand that our companies enjoy similar conditions of access to the public markets of our main trading partners, whose companies currently enjoy access to our public markets. That is not currently the case, however, since the commitments made by our trading partners are very limited compared to those made by the European Union.
Commissioner Mandelson also referred to this imbalance in his communication on a competitive Europe in a globalised economy. In it, he suggests the possibility of introducing concrete restrictions to access to certain sections of the Union’s public markets, with the aim of persuading our trading partners to open up their markets in a reciprocal manner.
Having said all of that, I consider this oral question on behalf of the Committee on International Trade to the European Commission, calling upon it to explain its strategy in this renegotiation of the agreement, to be timely – and hence more than appropriate. I would repeat that we are at a crucial time, since we need to reach an agreement over the coming weeks.
How is the Commission going to defend the interests of European companies in the markets of sectors in which we are highly competitive, such as transport, energy and public works, within the context of the objective of continuing along the path towards greater commercial openness, and not the reverse? Within this context, how are we going to deal with the situation of European SMEs, which are already at a disadvantage compared to large companies, compared to the situation of other SMEs in other countries whose governments reserve a proportion of their public contracts for them, as in the case of the United States?"@en1
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