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International ActivitiesAccess to utilities procurement markets of non-EU countriesOn 28 October 2009, the European Commission adopted a progress report, to be submitted to the Council, on the state of play of current international negotiations on EU businesses' access to the utilities procurement markets of non-EU countries (known as 'third countries').
The Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)The main international agreement related to public procurement is the WTO Agreement on Public Procurement (GPA). The GPA is to date the only legally binding agreement in the WTO focusing on the subject of government procurement. The GPA represents a set of procedural rules which govern the procurement activities of its parties (Canada, European Communities, Hong Kong-China, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands with respect to Aruba, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei and the United States). It also provides for market access opportunities. The GPA is currently being reviewed. In December 2006, the GPA Parties reached a provisional agreement on the revision of the text. Currently, the negotiations focus mainly on the market access issues. The EC belongs to the GPA Parties that strongly support accession of new members to the GPA with long-term strategy to turn the GPA into a multilateral Agreement. Recently, the accession process has been completed for Chinese Taipei (July 2009). Negotiations with China, Jordan and the Republic of Moldova and most recently Armenia are on-going. The European Community is represented in the negotiations by the Commission (DG Internal Market and Services). Free trade agreementsThe EU now includes public procurement in all its bilateral trade agreements. The EU also ensures that new bilateral trade agreements under negotiation contain a substantial procurement chapter, tailored to each country's size, level of development and priorities. More information available at:
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