Brussels, 09/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Europe must be “less naïve” in international trade and able to ensure “more effective and more strategic defence” of its interests, argue the secretaries of state for European affairs of six member states - Werner Hoyer of Germany, Diego Lopez Garrido of Spain, Laurent Wauquiez of France, Paolo Romania of Italy, Mikolaj Dowgielewicz of Poland and Pedro Lourtie of Portugal - in a piece, Europe must stand up for her interests while remaining open to the world, published in several newspapers on 9 February.
While it is “crucial to take advantage of the opportunities offered by globalisation, Europe must nevertheless beware of two pitfalls in its relations with its major foreign partners: opening up her markets without any reciprocal agreement and turning in on herself. The EU should lead the way to well regulated globalisation, based on shared rules and ensuring fair conditions for all”, the ministers say. The EU, as the world's largest trading power with the most open market, has a duty to maintain open and fair global trade and to promote this at international level, especially as “almost 36 million” of its jobs “depend on its trade performance”. Europe must also have “the means to ensure more effective and more strategic defence of her interests”, they go on, before adding: “What is at stake is of the greatest importance: it is about the EU's credibility on the international stage and also the continued existence and development of the European economic and social model”. While the EU is against “trade closure” and firmly committed to the conclusion of the Doha negotiations in 2011, it must also “look further ahead”. “Our priorities must be about market access for goods, services, investment, public procurement, protection of intellectual property, supply of natural resources and trade liberalisation in relation to climate”, the ministers say.
There is not enough reciprocity, they say, between the EU and its trade partners. “In terms of market access, for example, the EU has opened up more than 80% of its public procurement to non-EU countries, whereas the other developed economies have only opened up 20% of theirs and most emerging countries have made little or no commitment to open up. If the EU opens up its market to third countries, its companies must have access, under similar conditions, to the markets of those countries, whether in the private sector or in public procurement. It is a simple matter of fair trading”, the ministers argue, calling for “ambitious clauses on the markets” to be included in the bilateral free trade agreements currently being negotiated by the EU. “To be more credible, Europe has to increase her negotiating power to improve access to third country markets. The next review of the market framework should allow this to happen. The same approach to reciprocity should apply, too, at multilateral level in WTO negotiations on public procurement”, they add stating that they want “a Europe which offers protection but which refuses to turn in on herself” and mentioning intellectual property and state aid as other possible areas for action. “Can it be a matter of satisfaction to see European companies being bought by third country firms with public support when European state aid is - quite rightly - strictly limited?” they ask.
Following the initiative of the article, France rejects any suspicion of protectionism. “It is not about pushing hidden protectionism but saying that we get rid of naivety in trade”, commented Laurent Wauquiez. He stated that the fact that Germany, the EU's largest exporter, had signed sent out “a very strong signal”.
The European Commission, which manages EU trade policy, “welcomes this contribution to the debate” on the new strategy for the next five years, proposed by Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht on 9 November 2010. According to his spokesman John Clancy, De Gucht could, before summer or in the third quarter, bring forward a proposal on a mechanism to limit access to EU public contracts in the event of restrictions placed by third countries on EU companies. De Gucht's staff have been working on this with the staff of Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier. (E.H./transl.rt)