Plurilateral talks on electronic commerce are "constructive" and continue at a steady pace, reflecting the remarkable commitment of a growing number of World Trade Organization (WTO) members, confirmed Christophe Kiener, negotiator for the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade, in an introduction to MEPs from the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade (INTA Committee) on 2 October (see EUROPE 12275/22).
During the fourth round of formal negotiations, concluded on 27 September, 22 proposals were tabled.
These included: issues of facilitation of electronic transactions (including for electronic contracts, signatures and invoicing); consumer protection and spam; transparency; domestic regulation and cooperation.
Also on the agenda were the liability of Internet service providers - or ISPs, and non-discrimination of digital products, a subject that should prove complex for the EU, while the United States and Japan have tabled an "extremely sensitive" joint text that could threaten the way the EU defends and promotes cultural diversity, according to Mr Kiener.
During this last round, a new Chinese text was also presented, which "will be a challenge to address, because some of these proposals are also far reaching", noted the Commission representative. The European experts will therefore examine this text before the next meeting, scheduled for 22-25 October.
On the agenda for this new week of negotiations: data flows and confidentiality, telecommunications services and customs issues.
Mr Kiener also welcomed the fact that an increasing number of developing countries, particularly in Africa, have been active in recent discussions.
The Commission looks forward to these plurilateral talks: as Phil Hogan pointed out in his written replies to MEPs, WTO reform also requires a reform of the negotiating framework itself, including "greater use of plurilateral approaches" (see EUROPE 12337/5). (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)