Proposal for a Council Decision establishing the position to be taken by the European Union within the Committee on Government Procurement on the withdrawal of the Union objections to the delisting of three entities from Japan’s Annex 3 to Appendix I to the Agreement on Government Procurement

In 2001 Japan notified to the GPA Secretariat its intention to withdraw from its coverage under the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) the three Japanese Railway (JR) Honshu companies - the East Japan Railway Company, Central Japan Railway Company and West Japan Railway Company which are railway companies previously owned in majority by the Japanese government.

At that time the EU, other Parties filed in objections to the delisting of those companies which were lifted between 2002 and 2006.

Various consultations took place between the EU and Japan but concerns remained on the EU side, whereas all other GPA Parties lifted their objections. Taking into account this situation, Annex 3 of Japan's schedule under the revised GPA does not list the three companies but includes a note specifying that the companies are nevertheless deemed to remain covered until the EU withdraws the objection against the delisting of these companies.

During the scoping exercise for the EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement the EU expressed its readiness to lift the objection to the delisting of the three Japanese companies, against the background of the FTA negotiations on government procurement. This was the approach adopted by the Council in the Roadmap on Railways and Urban Transport that it endorsed together with the negotiating directives.

In the light of the positive development of the FTA negotiations on railways procurement, in particular the confirmation by Japan of its intention to significantly revise the terms of application of its GPA reservation on railways ("Operational Safety Clause" as stipulated under note 4 to Annex 2 and note 3(a) of Annex 3 of Japan) and to promote transparent and non-discriminatory procurement practices by the three JR Honshu companies, the European Union can withdraw its objections to the delisting of those companies from the GPA coverage of Japan.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)539: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:539:FIN

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