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Official Journal of the European Union
7.1.2012
COUNCIL DECISION
of 14 December 2011
establishing the position to be taken by the European Union within the Ministerial Conference of
the World Trade Organisation as regards a request for granting a waiver in order to give
preferential treatment to services and service suppliers of least-developed countries
(2012/8/EU)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
(3)
It is in the interest of the European Union to give its
support to that request for a waiver and thus to conclude
a part of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations on
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
services which is of special interest to least-developed
Union, and in particular of Articles 91, 100 and the first
country Members,
subparagraph of Article 207(4), in conjunction with
Article 218(9) thereof,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Article 1
The position of the Union within the Ministerial Conference of
Whereas:
the WTO shall be to support the request under paragraph 3 of
Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World
Trade Organisation for a waiver enabling WTO Members to
(1) Article
IX
of
the
Marrakesh
Agreement
establishing
the grant preferential treatment to services and service suppliers
World Trade Organisation (WTO) sets out the procedures
of least-developed countries.
for the granting of waivers concerning the Multilateral
Trade Agreements in Annex 1A or 1B or 1C to that
Agreement and their annexes.
Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.
(2) A
waiver
has
been
requested
whereby
WTO
Members
would be enabled to grant preferential treatment to
services and service suppliers of least-developed
Done at Geneva, 14 December 2011.
countries without according the same treatment to like
services and service suppliers of all other WTO Members
For the Council
by exceptionally derogating from the obligation under
paragraph 1 of Article II of the General Agreement on
The President
Trade in Services.
M. NOGAJ

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