Brussels, 14/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - In conclusions adopted on Monday, the Council gave its blessing to the new commercial strategy of the EU laid down by the Commission in the communication adopted on 4 October, entitled "A Competitive Europe in a Globalised Economy" (see EUROPE 9278). Given ongoing developments in the global economic order, the Council lays emphasis on the need for the EU to resist reacting to increased international competition by protecting itself against fair competition, but to "adopt an increasingly active policy of openness, at home and abroad". In the view of the Council, it is, therefore, "of capital importance" to attack barriers to trade, investment and the activities of European companies in third countries, stressing non-transparent and discriminatory regulatory obstacles and restrictions to competition. Furthermore, it is equally important to "guarantee effective, secure and non-discriminatory access for European businesses to raw materials, including energy". The Council goes on to stress the need to make the regulatory frameworks of the EU and its partners "more compatible" and to reinforce the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).
Reaffirming its commitment to the multilateral trade system governed by the WTO and its commitment for the resumption of and ambitious results for the Doha negotiations, the Council emphasises the need to "find complementary mechanisms" to allow the EU access to the improved market, by highlighting "new growth sectors" identified by the Commission: the observance of IPR, public procurement markets, regulatory cooperation, and competition and investment rules. The Council moreover agrees that the promotion of new-generation bilateral free-trade agreements (FTAs), "which are compatible with WTO rules and which go above and beyond existing agreements, thus paving the way for the multilateral negotiations of tomorrow", constitutes "one of the potential strategic initiatives" to this end. It stresses that whilst FTAs remain "a coherent element of the EU's external relations", they should provide for broader liberalisation of services and investments and lay emphasis on the removal of non-tariff and regulatory obstacles. Pointing out that when the geographical priorities for these agreements are decided upon, a determining factor must be economic aspects without prejudice to considerations of a political nature, the Council declares that it is in favour of opening negotiations "in the very near future" with the countries of ASEAN, India and South Korea. It adds that it would also be "justified" to enter into negotiations with Russia and Ukraine once they join the WTO and to develop transatlantic commercial relations still further.
Lastly, the Council stresses the need for the "positive effects of trade openness to be of benefit to all citizens, not just to specific interest groups", and for the forthcoming initiatives of the EU in commercial matters to take account of the needs of the developing countries, particularly concerning the access of poor countries to EU markets and their sustainable economic development. (eh)