Council Decision (EU) 2022/2384

Contents

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 91, Article 100(2) and Article 207(4), first subparagraph in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a)(v) thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament^note,Whereas:

(1)At the 11th Ministerial Conference of the Word Trade Organization (WTO), a group of 59 WTO Members, including the Union, issued a Joint Ministerial Statement on Services Domestic Regulation whereby they launched a plurilateral initiative to negotiate disciplines on services domestic regulation.

(2)The Commission conducted negotiations in consultation with the Committee established under Article 207(3) of the Treaty. The number of participants in this plurilateral Joint Statement Initiative increased to 67 WTO Members over time.

(3)On 2 December 2021, the participants in those negotiations issued a Declaration on the Conclusion of Negotiations on Services Domestic Regulation (the ‘Declaration’), which announced the successful conclusion of the negotiations. The participants noted the conclusion of negotiations on the Reference Paper on Services Domestic Regulation, which is set out in Annex 1 to the Declaration. They also welcomed the GATS Schedules of Specific Commitments which were submitted by WTO Members as their contributions to finalise the negotiations and which were attached to the Declaration as Annex 2.

(4)The participants to the Declaration intend to incorporate the disciplines specified in Annex 1 to the Declaration as additional commitments into their GATS Schedules of Specific Commitments, in accordance with Section 1 of that Annex. In accordance with paragraph 5 of the Declaration, the participants aim to submit their GATS Schedules of Specific Commitments for certification, pursuant to the Procedures for the Certification of Rectifications or Improvements to Schedules of Specific Commitments, within 12 months of the date of the Declaration, subject to the completion of any required domestic procedures.

(5)In accordance with the Declaration, the Union should submit to the WTO the necessary modifications to its GATS Schedule of Specific Commitments, as set out in the Union’s Pre-Finalisation Schedule of Specific Commitments.

(6)The incorporation of the disciplines specified in Annex 1 to the Declaration as additional commitments into the Union’s GATS Schedule of Specific Commitments should therefore be approved on behalf of the Union,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 #

The incorporation of the disciplines specified in Annex 1 to the Declaration on the Conclusion of Negotiations on Services Domestic Regulation into the Union’s GATS Schedule of Specific Commitments is hereby approved on behalf of the European Union.The text of the Declaration and the Union’s Pre-Finalisation Schedule of Specific Commitments is attached to this Decision.

Article 2 #

The Commission is hereby authorised to submit to the WTO the necessary modifications to the Union’s GATS Schedule of Specific Commitments, as set out in the Union’s Pre-Finalisation Schedule of Specific Commitments.

Article 3 #

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Annex 1

INF/SDR/2 of 26 November 2021 — JOINT INITIATIVE ON SERVICES DOMESTIC REGULATION REFERENCE PAPER ON SERVICES DOMESTIC REGULATION

Section I

1.Members have agreed to the disciplines on Services Domestic Regulation in this Reference Paper ("disciplines") with the objective of elaborating upon the provisions of the General Agreement on Trade in Services ("Agreement"), pursuant to paragraph 4 of Article VI of the Agreement.^note

2.Members recognize the difficulties which may be faced by service suppliers, particularly those of developing country Members, in complying with measures relating to licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements and procedures, and technical standards of other Members and in particular, the specific difficulties which may be faced by service suppliers from least-developed country Members.

3.Members recognize the right to regulate, and to introduce new regulations, on the supply of services within their territories in order to meet their policy objectives.

4.Members further recognize the existence of asymmetries with respect to the degree of development of services regulations in different countries, especially in the case of developing and least-developed country Members.

5.The disciplines shall not be construed to prescribe or impose any particular regulatory provisions regarding their implementation.

6.The disciplines shall not be construed as diminishing any obligations of Members under the Agreement.

Sectoral Coverage and Scheduling Modalities

7.Members shall inscribe the disciplines in Section II in their Schedules as additional commitments under Article XVIII of the Agreement. Members may choose to inscribe the alternative disciplines in Section III for their commitments in financial services.

8.The disciplines inscribed pursuant to paragraph 7 of this Section apply where specific commitments are undertaken. In addition, Members are encouraged to inscribe in their Schedules additional sectors to which the disciplines apply.

9.Members may exclude the discipline set out in paragraph 22 (d) of Section II and paragraph 19 (d) of Section III from the additional commitments scheduled under paragraph 7 of this Section.

Development

Transitional Periods for Developing Country Members

10.A developing country Member may designate specific disciplines for implementation on a date after a transitional period of no longer than 7 years following the entry into force of these disciplines. The scope of the designation may be limited to individual services sectors or subsectors. The transitional periods shall be inscribed in the respective Schedules of specific commitments. A developing country Member requiring an extended transitional period for implementation shall submit a request in accordance with relevant procedures.^note Members shall give sympathetic consideration to granting such requests, taking into account the specific circumstances of the Member submitting the request.

Participation of Least-Developed Country Members

11.Least-developed country Members shall inscribe the disciplines pursuant to paragraph 7 of this Section in their Schedules of specific commitments, no later than 6 months in advance of their graduation from least-developed country status. Least-developed country Members may, at that time, designate transitional periods pursuant to paragraph 10 of this Section. Least-developed country Members are nonetheless encouraged to apply these disciplines before their graduation, to the extent consistent with their individual implementation capacity.

Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

12.Developed and developing country Members, in a position to do so, are encouraged to provide specific technical assistance and capacity building to developing and in particular least-developed country Members, upon their request and on mutually agreed terms and conditions, aimed, inter alia, at:

(a)developing and strengthening institutional and regulatory capacities to regulate the supply of services and to implement these disciplines, especially provisions and sectors to which transitional periods apply;

(b)assisting service suppliers of developing and in particular least-developed country Members to meet the relevant requirements and procedures in export markets;

(c)facilitating the establishment of technical standards and facilitating participation of developing and in particular least-developed country Members facing resource constraints in the relevant international organizations; and

(d)assisting, through public or private bodies and relevant international organizations, service suppliers of developing and in particular least-developed country Members in building their supply capacity and in complying with domestic regulation.

Section II – disciplines on services domestic regulation

Scope of the Disciplines

1.These disciplines apply to measures by Members relating to licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements and procedures, and technical standards affecting trade in services.

2.These disciplines do not apply to any terms, limitations, conditions, or qualifications set out in a Member’s Schedule pursuant to Articles XVI or XVII of the Agreement.

3.For the purpose of these disciplines, "authorization" means the permission to supply a service, resulting from a procedure to which an applicant must adhere in order to demonstrate compliance with licensing requirements, qualification requirements, or technical standards.

Submission of Applications

4.Each Member shall, to the extent practicable, avoid requiring an applicant to approach more than one competent authority for each application for authorization. If a service is within the jurisdiction of multiple competent authorities, multiple applications for authorization may be required.

Application Timeframes

5.If a Member requires authorization for the supply of a service, it shall ensure that its competent authorities to the extent practicable permit submission of an application at any time throughout the year.^note If a specific time period for applying exists, the Member shall ensure that the competent authorities allow a reasonable period for the submission of an application.

Electronic Applications and Acceptance of Copies

6.If a Member requires authorization for the supply of a service, it shall ensure that its competent authorities:

(a)taking into account their competing priorities and resource constraints, endeavour to accept applications in electronic format; and

(b)accept copies of documents, that are authenticated in accordance with the Member’s domestic laws and regulations, in place of original documents, unless the competent authorities require original documents to protect the integrity of the authorization process.

Processing of Applications

7.If a Member requires authorization for the supply of a service, it shall ensure that its competent authorities:

(a)to the extent practicable, provide an indicative timeframe for processing of an application;

(b)at the request of the applicant, provide without undue delay information concerning the status of the application;

(c)to the extent practicable, ascertain without undue delay the completeness of an application for processing under the Member’s domestic laws and regulations;

(d)if they consider an application complete for processing under the Member’s domestic laws and regulations,^note within a reasonable period of time after the submission of the application ensure that:

(i)the processing of the application is completed; and

(ii)the applicant is informed of the decision concerning the application,^note to the extent possible in writing;^note

(e)if they consider an application incomplete for processing under the Member’s domestic laws and regulations, within a reasonable period of time, to the extent practicable:

(i)inform the applicant that the application is incomplete;

(ii)at the request of the applicant, identify the additional information required to complete the application, or otherwise provide guidance on why the application is considered incomplete; and

(iii)provide the applicant with the opportunity^note to provide the additional information that is required to complete the application;

however, if none of the above is practicable, and the application is rejected due to incompleteness, ensure that they so inform the applicant within a reasonable period of time; and

(f)if an application is rejected, to the extent possible, either upon their own initiative or upon request of the applicant, inform the applicant of the reasons for rejection and, if applicable, the procedures for resubmission of an application; an applicant should not be prevented from submitting another application^note solely on the basis of a previously rejected application.

8.The competent authorities of a Member shall ensure that authorization, once granted, enters into effect without undue delay, subject to applicable terms and conditions.^note

Fees

9.Each Member shall ensure that the authorization fees^note charged by its competent authorities are reasonable, transparent, based on authority set out in a measure, and do not in themselves restrict the supply of the relevant service.

Assessment of Qualifications

10.If a Member requires an examination for authorization for the supply of a service, that Member shall ensure that its competent authorities schedule such an examination at reasonably frequent intervals and provide a reasonable period of time to enable applicants to request to take the examination. Having regard to the cost, administrative burden, and the integrity of the procedures involved, Members are encouraged to accept requests in electronic format to take such examinations, and to consider, to the extent practicable, the use of electronic means in other aspects of examination processes.

Recognition

11.Where professional bodies of Members are mutually interested in establishing dialogues on issues relating to recognition of professional qualifications, licensing or registration, the relevant Members should consider supporting the dialogue of those bodies where requested and appropriate.

Independence

12.If a Member adopts or maintains measures relating to the authorization for the supply of a service, the Member shall ensure that its competent authorities reach and administer their decisions in a manner independent from any supplier of the service for which authorization is required.^note

Publication and Information available

13.If a Member requires authorization for the supply of a service, further to Article III of the Agreement, the Member shall promptly publish,^note or otherwise make publicly available in writing, the information necessary for service suppliers or persons seeking to supply a service to comply with the requirements and procedures for obtaining, maintaining, amending and renewing such authorization. Such information shall include, inter alia, where it exists:

(a)the requirements and procedures;

(b)contact information of relevant competent authorities;

(c)fees;

(d)technical standards;

(e)procedures for appeal or review of decisions concerning applications;

(f)procedures for monitoring or enforcing compliance with the terms and conditions of licenses or qualifications;

(g)opportunities for public involvement, such as through hearings or comments; and

(h)indicative timeframes for processing of an application.

Opportunity to Comment and Information before Entry into Force

14.To the extent practicable and in a manner consistent with its legal system for adopting measures, each Member^note shall publish in advance:

(a)its laws and regulations of general application it proposes to adopt in relation to matters falling within the scope of paragraph 1 of this Section; or

(b)documents that provide sufficient details about such a possible new law or regulation to allow interested persons and other Members to assess whether and how their interests might be significantly affected.

15.To the extent practicable and in a manner consistent with its legal system for adopting measures, each Member is encouraged to apply paragraph 14 of this Section to procedures and administrative rulings of general application it proposes to adopt in relation to matters falling within the scope of paragraph 1 of this Section.

16.To the extent practicable and in a manner consistent with its legal system for adopting measures, each Member shall provide interested persons and other Members a reasonable opportunity to comment on such proposed measures or documents published under paragraphs 14 or 15 of this Section.

17.To the extent practicable and in a manner consistent with its legal system for adopting measures, each Member shall consider comments received under paragraph 16 of this Section.^note

18.In publishing a law or regulation referred to in paragraph 14 (a) of this Section, or in advance of such publication, to the extent practicable and in a manner consistent with its legal system for adopting measures, a Member is encouraged to explain the purpose and rationale of the law or regulation.

19.Each Member shall, to the extent practicable, endeavour to allow reasonable time between publication of the text of a law or regulation referred to in paragraph 14 (a) of this Section and the date on which service suppliers must comply with the law or regulation.

Enquiry Points

20.Each Member shall maintain or establish appropriate mechanisms for responding to enquiries from service suppliers or persons seeking to supply a service regarding the measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Section.^note A Member may choose to address such enquiries through either the enquiry and contact points established under Articles III and IV of the Agreement or any other mechanisms as appropriate.

Technical Standards

21.Each Member shall encourage its competent authorities, when adopting technical standards, to adopt technical standards developed through open and transparent processes, and shall encourage any body, including relevant international organizations,^note designated to develop technical standards to use open and transparent processes.

Development of Measures

22.If a Member adopts or maintains measures relating to the authorization for the supply of a service, the Member shall ensure that:

(a)such measures are based on objective and transparent criteria;^note

(b)the procedures are impartial, and that the procedures are adequate for applicants to demonstrate whether they meet the requirements, if such requirements exist;

(c)the procedures do not in themselves unjustifiably prevent the fulfilment of requirements; and

(d)such measures do not discriminate between men and women.^note

Section III – alternative disciplines on services domestic regulation for financial services

Scope

1.These disciplines apply to measures by Members relating to licensing requirements and procedures, and qualification requirements and procedures affecting trade in financial services, as defined in the GATS Annex on Financial Services.

2.These disciplines do not apply to any terms, limitations, conditions, or qualifications set out in a Member’s Schedule pursuant to Articles XVI or XVII of the Agreement.

Application Timeframes

4.If a Member requires authorization for the supply of a service, it shall ensure that its competent authorities to the extent practicable permit submission of an application at any time throughout the year.^note If a specific time period for applying exists, the Member shall ensure that the competent authorities allow a reasonable period for the submission of an application.

Electronic Applications and Acceptance of Copies

5.If a Member requires authorization for the supply of a service, it shall ensure that its competent authorities:

(a)taking into account their competing priorities and resource constraints, endeavour to accept applications in electronic format; and

Processing of Applications

6.If a Member requires authorization for the supply of a service, it shall ensure that its competent authorities:

(a)to the extent practicable, provide an indicative timeframe for processing of an application;

(b)at the request of the applicant, provide without undue delay information concerning the status of the application;

(c)to the extent practicable, ascertain without undue delay the completeness of an application for processing under the Member’s domestic laws and regulations;

(i)the processing of the application is completed; and

(ii)the applicant is informed of the decision concerning the application,^note to the extent possible in writing;^note

(e)if they consider an application incomplete for processing under the Member’s domestic laws and regulations, within a reasonable period of time, to the extent practicable:

(i)inform the applicant that the application is incomplete;

(ii)at the request of the applicant, identify the additional information required to complete the application, or otherwise provide guidance on why the application is considered incomplete; and

(iii)provide the applicant with the opportunity^note to provide the additional information that is required to complete the application;

however, if none of the above is practicable, and the application is rejected due to incompleteness, ensure that they so inform the applicant within a reasonable period of time; and

(f)if an application is rejected, to the extent practicable, either upon their own initiative or upon request of the applicant, inform the applicant of the reasons for rejection and, if applicable, the procedures for resubmission of an application; an applicant should not be prevented from submitting another application^note solely on the basis that an application had been previously rejected.

7.The competent authorities of a Member shall ensure that authorization, once granted, enters into effect without undue delay, subject to applicable terms and conditions.^note

Fees

8.Each Member shall ensure that its competent authorities, with respect to authorization fees^note they charge, provide applicants with a schedule of fees or information on how fee amounts are determined.

Assessment of Qualifications

9.If a Member requires an examination for authorization for the supply of a service, that Member shall ensure that its competent authorities schedule such an examination at reasonably frequent intervals and provide a reasonable period of time to enable applicants to request to take the examination. Having regard to the cost, administrative burden, and the integrity of the procedures involved, Members are encouraged to accept requests in electronic format to take such examinations, and to consider, to the extent practicable, the use of electronic means in other aspects of examination processes.

Independence

10.If a Member adopts or maintains measures relating to the authorization for the supply of a service, the Member shall ensure that its competent authorities reach and administer their decisions in a manner independent from any supplier of the service for which authorization is required.^note

Publication and Information available

11.If a Member requires authorization for the supply of a service, further to Article III of the Agreement and paragraphs 6 and 8 of this Section, the Member shall promptly publish,^note or otherwise make publicly available in writing the information necessary for service suppliers or persons seeking to supply a service to comply with the requirements and procedures for obtaining, maintaining, amending and renewing such authorization. Such information shall include, inter alia, where it exists:

(a)the requirements and procedures;

(b)contact information of relevant competent authorities;

(c)procedures for appeal or review of decisions concerning applications;

(d)procedures for monitoring or enforcing compliance with the terms and conditions of licenses or qualifications; and

(e)opportunities for public involvement, such as through hearings or comments.

Opportunity to Comment and Information before Entry into Force

12.To the extent practicable and in a manner consistent with its legal system for adopting measures, each Member^note shall publish in advance:

(a)its laws and regulations of general application it proposes to adopt in relation to matters falling within the scope of paragraph 1 of this Section; or

13.To the extent practicable and in a manner consistent with its legal system for adopting measures, each Member is encouraged to apply paragraph 12 of this Section to procedures and administrative rulings of general application it proposes to adopt in relation to matters falling within the scope of paragraph 1.

14.To the extent practicable and in a manner consistent with its legal system for adopting measures, each Member shall provide interested persons and other Members a reasonable opportunity to comment on such proposed measures or documents published under paragraphs 12 or 13 of this Section.

15.To the extent practicable and in a manner consistent with its legal system for adopting measures, each Member shall consider comments received under paragraph 14 of this Section.^note

16.In publishing a law or regulation referred to in paragraph 12 (a) of this Section, or in advance of such publication, to the extent practicable and in a manner consistent with its legal system for adopting measures, a Member is encouraged to explain the purpose and rationale of the law or regulation.

17.Each Member shall, to the extent practicable, endeavour to allow reasonable time between publication of the text of a law or regulation referred to in paragraph 12 (a) of this Section and the date on which service suppliers must comply with the law or regulation.

Enquiry Points

18.Each Member shall maintain or establish appropriate mechanisms for responding to enquiries from service suppliers or persons seeking to supply a service regarding the measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Section.^note A Member may choose to address such enquiries through either the enquiry and contact points established under Articles III and IV of the Agreement or any other mechanisms as appropriate.

Development of Measures

19.If a Member adopts or maintains measures relating to the authorization for the supply of a service, the Member shall ensure that:

(a)such measures are based on objective and transparent criteria;^note

(b)the procedures are impartial, and that the procedures are adequate for applicants to demonstrate whether they meet the requirements, if such requirements exist;

(c)the procedures do not in themselves unjustifiably prevent fulfilment of requirements; and

(d)such measures do not discriminate between men and women.^note

Annex 2

INF/SDR/3/Rev.1 of 2 December 2021 — JOINT INITIATIVE ON SERVICES DOMESTIC REGULATION SCHEDULES OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS

RevisionThis revision is to add El Salvador to the list of Schedules of Specific Commitments.

This document contains a list of the Schedules of Specific Commitments concerning services domestic regulation disciplines.

	MEMBER	DATE OF SUBMISSION	DOCUMENT SYMBOL
1.	Albania	22.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/ALB/Rev.1
2.	Argentina	29.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/ARG
3.	Australia	19.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/AUS/Rev.1
4.	Bahrain, Kingdom of	To be submitted no later than 31 March 2022
5.	Brazil	12.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/BRA/Rev.1
6.	Canada	22.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/CAN/Rev.1
7.	Chile	29.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/CHL/Rev.1
8.	China	29.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/CHN/Rev.1
9.	Colombia	29.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/COL/Rev.1
10.	Costa Rica	17.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/CRI/Rev.1
11.	El Salvador	To be submitted no later than 31 March 2022
12.	European Union	29.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/EU/Rev.1
13.	Hong Kong, China	02.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/HKG/Rev.1
14.	Iceland	29.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/ISL/Rev.1
15.	Israel	29.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/ISR/Rev.1
16.	Japan	28.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/JPN/Rev.1
17.	Kazakhstan	26.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/KAZ/Rev.1
18.	Korea, Republic of	28.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/KOR/Rev.1
19.	Liechtenstein	10.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/LIE/Rev.1
20.	Mauritius	27.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/MUS/Rev.1
21.	Mexico	01.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/MEX/Rev.1
22.	Moldova, Republic of	29.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/MDA/Rev.1
23.	Montenegro	16.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/MNE/Rev.1
24.	New Zealand	29.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/NZL/Rev.1
25.	Nigeria	23.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/NGA/Rev.1
26.	North Macedonia	16.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/MDK/Rev.1
27.	Norway	28.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/NOR/Rev.1
28.	Paraguay	19.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/PRY/Rev.1
29.	Peru	17.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/PER/Rev.1
30.	Philippines	To be submitted no later than 28 February 2022
31.	Russian Federation	To be submitted no later than 28 February 2022
32.	Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of	22.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/KSA/Rev.1
33.	Singapore	03.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/SGP/Rev.1
34.	Switzerland	01.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/CHE/Rev.1
35.	The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu	27.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/TPKM/Rev.1
36.	Thailand	25.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/THA
37.	Turkey	28.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/TUR/Rev.1
38.	Ukraine	05.11.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/UKR/Rev.1
39.	United Kingdom	27.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/GBR
40.	United States	22.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/USA
41.	Uruguay	29.10.2021	INF/SDR/IDS/URY/Rev.1

INF/SDR/IDS/EU/Rev.1

Joint initiative on services domestic regulation communication from the european union

Pre-Finalisation Schedule of Specific Commitments

1.The European Union submits the attached draft Schedule as its contribution to the finalisation of the negotiations in the Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation.

2.This Schedule reflects the European Union's scheduling approach in accordance with Section I of document INF/SDR/1.

The following communication dated 29 October 2021 was received from the delegation of the European Union.

European union pre-finalisation schedule of specific commitments

—European Union: GATS/SC/157 (7 May 2019);

—Bulgaria: GATS/SC/122 (21 May 1997), GATS/SC/122/S1(11 April 1997), GATS/SC/122/S2 (26 February 1998);

—Romania: GATS/72 (15 April 1994), GATS/SC/72/S1 (11 April 1997), GATS/SC/72/S2 (26 February 1998);

—Croatia: GATS/SC/130 (22 December 2000).

This text supplements the entries relating to the Horizontal Commitments contained in the following documents:

Pre-finalisation schedule of specific commitments – european union

Modes of Supply: (1) Cross-border supply (2) Consumption abroad (3) Commercial presence (4) Presence of natural persons

Sector or Sub-sector	Limitations on Market Access	Limitations on National Treatment	Additional Commitments
I. HORIZONTAL COMMITMENTS
ALL SECTORS INCLUDED IN THIS SCHEDULE			The European Union undertakes as additional commitments the disciplines contained in Section II of document INF/SDR/1 for all sectors included in this schedule, except for financial services.The European Union undertakes as additional commitments the disciplines contained in Section III of document INF/SDR/1 for financial services sectors included in this schedule.