The European Union Expert Group on Trade Agreements, composed of stakeholders and civil society representatives, worked on Thursday 25 April on the upcoming plurilateral negotiations on e-commerce.
The EU's text proposal on e-commerce is expected to be submitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 26 April. A first formal round of negotiations is scheduled for mid-May.
Earlier, on 2 April, the European Commission had forwarded recommendations to the EU Council to clarify the EU's objectives in these talks and to complement the nearly 20-year-old mandates published under the Doha Agenda (see EUROPE 12228/15). The launch of plurilateral talks was announced at the end of January, in Davos, by the European Union and 47 other WTO members (see EUROPE 12180/7).
The Union is indeed a major exporter of digital products, but is very cautious on data protection issues. This subject was on the agenda of the EU/Japan summit on Thursday, with the EU seeking to join forces with Tokyo on this issue (see EUROPE 12242/1).
The upcoming discussions will therefore be particularly sensitive, even if the need to establish common disciplines to support the development of e-commerce is obvious. Developing countries - led by India and South Africa - are also very reluctant to support this initiative, calling on negotiators to take into account their limitations and needs.
It is also a question of having a sufficient number of participants in these talks, bearing in mind that the provisions laid down in this agreement should be extended to all WTO members, in accordance with the Organisation's non-discrimination clauses.
Africa. The Expert Group also discussed the EU's role in promoting Africa's economic opportunities, as part of the launch of the new Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Employment. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)