Services of General Interest Beyond the Single Market: External and International Law Dimensions (Legal Issues of Services of General Interest)

This is the first book ever to assess comprehensively the impact of EU international agreements on services of general interest. Services of general interest remain high on the political and legal agenda of the European Union. However, the debates about the impact of EU law on services of general interest usually focus on internal market law such as the free movement of services, competition law, state aid rules and the law of public procurement. The external and international dimensions of the European legal framework for services of general interest are often overlooked. This book addresses the impact of international trade and investment agreements on public services and the role these services play in EU external relations. It shows that the inherent tension between establishing and securing undistorted competition on markets and the logic of public services exists in international economic law in a similar way as in EU internal law. Given the contentiousness of international trade and investment agreements as well as the EU’s external policies, the issues discussed in this volume are timely and relevant and contribute to the ongoing debate about the future of services of general interest in the EU with fresh ideas and perspectives. **Markus Krajewski** is Professor of Public and International Law at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-12 Front Matter....Pages 13-13 Revisiting the Impact of GATS on Public Services....Pages 15-48 WTO Procurement Rules: In Particular the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and Services of General Interest....Pages 49-76 Regulating Public Services and International Investment Law....Pages 77-109 NAFTA’s Approach to Protecting Public Services: Fragmentary, Asymmetrical, Rigid and Limited....Pages 111-160 Emerging Principles of International Competition Law: Do Public Services Matter?....Pages 161-187 Services of General Interest Under Regimes of Fiscal Austerity....Pages 189-215 Front Matter....Pages 217-217 A Normative Basis for EU External Relations? Protecting Internal Values Beyond the Single Market....Pages 219-232 Ambivalence of the European Strategy in External Relations on Trade Agreements....Pages 233-241 Public Services Exemptions in EU Free Trade and Investment Agreements....Pages 243-272 Services of General Interest in the European Neighbourhood Policy....Pages 273-298 Front Matter....Pages 299-299 Towards an International Regime of Regulating Electronic Communications....Pages 301-323 Services of General Interest and the External Dimension of the EU Energy Policy....Pages 325-350 The Impact of Free Trade Agreements on Local Self-government—The Provision of Drinking Water by Local Utilities in Germany as a Case Study....Pages 351-370 Health Systems and Policy Space for Health in the Context of European Union Trade Policies....Pages 371-396 Back Matter....Pages 397-401 This is the first book ever to assess comprehensively the impact of EU international agreements on services of general interest. Services of general interest remain high on the political and legal agenda of the European Union. However, the debates about the impact of EU law on services of general interest usually focus on internal market law such as the free movement of services, competition law, state aid rules and the law of public procurement. The external and international dimensions of the European legal framework for services of general interest are often overlooked. This book addresses the impact of international trade and investment agreements on public services and the role these services play in EU external relations. It shows that the inherent tension between establishing and securing undistorted competition on markets and the logic of public services exists in international economic law in a similar way as in EU internal law. Given the contentiousness of international trade and investment agreements as well as the EU's external policies, the issues discussed in this volume are timely and relevant and contribute to the ongoing debate about the future of services of general interest in the EU with fresh ideas and perspectives.-- Provided by publisher 2.3.3.2 Maritime Transport2.3.3.3 Telecommunications; 2.4 GATS 'Agnostic' Approach to the Notion of Public Services; 2.4.1 The GATS Indifference to Public Service Goals; 2.4.2 The Indeterminability of the GATS Concept of Public Services; 2.4.3 The GATS Impact on the Emergence of a Global Notion of Public Services in Non-WTO Contexts; 2.5 Conclusions; References; 3 WTO Procurement Rules: In Particular the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and Services of General Interest ; Abstract ; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 The Notion of Services of General Interest in WTO Law and in EU Law 2.2 The Potential Impact of GATS Trade Disciplines on Public Services2.2.1 Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment; 2.2.2 Market Access; 2.2.3 National Treatment; 2.2.4 Domestic Regulation; 2.2.5 Other GATS Obligations; 2.3 GATS Public Service Exemptions; 2.3.1 Individual Exemptions; 2.3.1.1 Sectoral Scope; 2.3.1.2 Modal Scope; 2.3.1.3 Level of Commitment; 2.3.2 Horizontal Exemptions; 2.3.2.1 Services Supplied in the Exercise of Governmental Authority; 2.3.2.2 Government Procurement; 2.3.2.3 General and Security Exceptions; 2.3.3 Sectoral Exemptions; 2.3.3.1 Air Transport Services 3.3 A Brief Introduction to the GPA3.4 Delineation of Scope: GPA Versus GATT and GATS; 3.4.1 (Some) Consonance in Exceptions; 3.4.2 Differences in Coverage Between GPA 1994 and GPA 2012 with Regard to Commercial Purchases; 3.4.3 Covered Procurement: Governmental Versus Commercial Purposes; 3.4.3.1 Preliminary; 3.4.3.2 Interpreting the Definitional Elements to Determine the GPA 2012 Scope; 3.4.3.3 Distinguishing Genuine Government Procurement from Commercial Activities; 3.5 Public Procurement of Services: The Substantive and Personal Coverage of Procurement Rules Preface; Contents; 1 Introduction ; Abstract ; 1.1 Services of General Interest in EU International Law and External Policies; 1.2 Public Services in International Trade, Investment and Competition Law; 1.3 External Policies of the European Union and Services of General Interest; 1.4 Sector-Specific Perspectives: Telecommunications, Energy, Water and Health Services; 1.5 Main Themes and Agenda for Future Research; References; Part I Public Services in International Economic Law; 2 Revisiting the Impact of GATS on Public Services ; Abstract ; 2.1 Introduction 3.5.1 Substantive Ambit: Essentially All Goods and Some Services3.5.2 Personal Scope: Entities Covered; 3.5.3 GPA Coverage According to the Annexes with Regard to Public Services, in Particular Utilities; 3.6 The Notion of "Government Procurement"; 3.6.1 Procurement, Concession Contracts and PPP; 3.6.2 Coverage of In-house Procurement; 3.7 Summary and Assessment: The Autonomy of the GPA Parties in Providing Services of General Interest; References; 4 Regulating Public Services and International Investment Law ; Abstract ; 4.1 Introduction