Council Decision (EU) 2020/13Show full title

4. Trade in Services, Investment and Digital Trade

4.1. Scope

EPAs will provide for a progressive and reciprocal liberalisation of trade in services and investment aiming at assuring a comparable level of market access opportunities, consistent with the relevant WTO rules, in particular Article V of the GATS, taking into account the level of development of the ACP countries concerned. EPAs should cover all modes of supply.

The high quality of the EU's public utilities should be preserved in accordance with the TFEU and in particular Protocol no 26 on Services of General Interest, and taking into account the EU's commitments in this area, including GATS. Services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority as defined by Article I-3 of the GATS shall be excluded from these negotiations. The EPAs reaffirm the parties' right to regulate economic activity in the public interest in accordance with international obligations.

In addition, EPAs should contain regulatory disciplines intended to address behind the border barriers, including, where applicable, in the field of domestic regulation. EPAs may also include disciplines on performance requirements related to investments.

In the context of the increasing digitalisation of trade and strong development dimensions of digital trade, the negotiations should result in rules covering digital trade, including cross-border data flows, while neither negotiating nor affecting the EU's personal data protection rules and without prejudice to the EU legislation. These rules should aim to improve the conditions for digital trade for the benefit of business and consumers, and to increase the participation of micro, small and medium-sized (MSMEs) enterprises, as well as to create new opportunities to promote inclusive and sustainable growth and development. EPAs should provide for appropriate flexibility, cooperation and dialogue on regulatory issues raised by digital trade.

EPAs will provide for audio-visual services to be dealt with separately in specific agreements for cultural cooperation and partnership between the parties. Such agreements will ensure the possibility for the European Union and its Member States as well as for the ACP to preserve and develop their capacity to define and implement their cultural and audio-visual policies for the preservation of their cultural diversity, while recognizing, preserving and promoting the cultural values and identities of the ACP to foster intercultural dialogue by improving market access opportunities for the cultural goods and services of these countries, in accordance with the provisions of Article 27 of the Cotonou Agreement and the relevant provision of its successor agreement, once applicable.

The parties will agree that no new or more discriminatory measures will be introduced by either party after the application of the EPAs between the regional grouping and the European Union. The parties should take into account this principle from the beginning of the negotiations.

The liberalisation process will take place on an asymmetrical basis. The ACP countries will be allowed a certain measure of flexibility depending on their level of development, in overall terms as well as in terms of sector and sub-sector in accordance with the provisions of the GATS, in particular those relating to developing countries' participation in the liberalisation agreements.

For the European Union, the transition period should not exceed 10 years.

For the ACP side, a transition period, compatible with the objectives of the Cotonou Agreement, its successor agreement and WTO rules, will be applied in a flexible way, to take into account specific constraints of the ACP countries concerned, but should not in principle exceed 15 years.

ACP countries belonging to an EPA will undertake to apply at least the same arrangements between them as they apply to the European Union.

EPAs will reconfirm the commitments related to services made under the Cotonou Agreement and the relevant provisions of its successor agreement, once applicable.

4.2. Practical arrangements

Where justified by particular economic, social and environmental constraints encountered by the ACP countries, the negotiations may be postponed. In such an event the parties will regularly assess the situation in the course of the EPA negotiations. They will ensure that the preparatory phase to these negotiations is actively used to prepare for the negotiations, in particular by mobilising appropriate support for the development of services in line with the provisions of the Cotonou Agreement, in particular Article 41(5) thereof, and the relevant provisions of its successor agreement, once applicable.