'Article 133 - The Elephant in the Living Room of the Nice II Debate

Thursday September 19, 2002 00:41

by Blsst . ers on my fingers

. . . or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the GATS.'

"Let me get really controversial. I am determined on this trip to put the case to the UK government for more majority voting in the forthcoming IGC... I am talking, of course, about updating the EU's common commercial policy as set out in Article 133 of the Treaty, to permit qualified majority voting in the Council to determine our position in international trade negotiations in services, intellectual property and investment." - EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy (3)

Some IMC contributors paid a visit to one of Fine Gael's forums (1) on the Nice Treaty at which Peter Sutherland - in reply to an IMC question about the complexities of Article 133 of the Treaty - gave a very honest answer. "He kindly confirmed that the General Agreement on Trade and Services can be ratified post-Nice without ever being debated in, much less subject to the approval of, a National or European parliament or any other form of democratic institution." In the course of his answer he mentioned three groups - the EU Commission, The Council of Ministers and the Article 133 Committee as being the groups with the combined power to sign the EU as a whole up to GATS. When did anyone ever vote for one of these groups? They are all appointees rather than elected representatives. And who are the 133 Committee anyway? Try Google. You will get more info from a simple search about this shadowy group than the EU will ever give you.

Peter Sutherland has a lot more to do with the EU and its shady trade negotiations than some people would like him to have. Greg Palast (2) for one. "One set of documents, minutes of the private meetings of the Liberalization of Trade in Services (LOTIS) (5) committee were discovered by the Dutch think tank Corporate Europe Observatory. They record 14 secret meetings from April 1999 and February 2001 between Britain's chief services trade negotiators, the Bank of England and the movers and shakers of the Euro-American business world. Those attending the closed LOTIS include Peter Sutherland, International Chairman of US-based investment bank Goldman Sachs and formerly the Director General of the World Trade Organization." What were these meetings about? Trade liberalisation in general and GATS in particular? Find out for yourself here. (6)

What Mr. Sutherland wants, and the reason he is willing to deal with in(s)ane questions and speeches from blue-shirted yes-men, is that a yes vote will line up fast track negotiating powers for the EU Commission so that the EU can ratify and impliment GATS with as little democratic oversight as possible and as quickly as possible.

So what is GATS? (4) Fundamentally it is a services privatisation treaty which, if the EU signs up to it as it is likely to do if the Treaty of Nice is ratified by all member states, will be enforced by the WTO. The small print is a worldwide wet dream for Global Corporations. GATS and concerns about it seems to be one of the main elements linking the anti-Nice arguments being put forward by the various left anti-Nice campaigns including Libertarians against Nice, The Green Party, Sinn Fein, The Socialist Party and The Socialist Workers Party.

The Media here however, never mind the Referendum Commission or the yes-men in Labour/Fianna Fail/ Fine Gael, are doing a grave disservice to voters by, whether through ignorance (some sections of the Media) or malice (FF/FG/PDs/Labour and the business sections of the Media), brushing this aspect of the treaty and debate around it under the carpet. Here's hoping that the left, as it gears up for the campaign proper, gives Article 133, and its implications for the EU/WTO negotiations on the implementation of GATS, a good hard shove to the top of the agenda.

Maybe a few well placed questions or slogans at the IBEC pro nice conference on Friday 20th September would do the trick. IBEC for sure, like Fine Gael, will be avoiding the subject of 133 and GATS like the plague while trying to scare everyone into the yes-line with the usual hackneyed lines about Ireland being the leper of the EU if the electorate plumps for another No. Libertarians Against Nice will be outside (7)) to show you the way in if you fancy getting IBECs take on all this.

Or maybe the Forum on Europe in Dublin is the place to break the ice. First one is at Liberty Hall on Friday the 27th of this month at 7pm and there is a 'return match' on October 4th if all else fails.

Oh - and ask them about who gets to sign the EU up to TRIPS while you're/they're at it. Let us know here in open-communication-land of erron what they have to say on the subject. The stooges will be the ones shuffling in confusion through their Government Information (HAHAHAHA) Booklets. The bad guys are the ones that give the short concise answers, glare at you, and quickly change the subject. Cigars are an optional extra . . . apart from global showmen that is.

It's good to talk . . . for bazzer . . .

(1) http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=11903&start=110

(2) http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=722

(3) http://www.xs4all.nl/~ceo/observer7/igc.html

(4) http://www.gatswatch.org

(5) http://www.gatswatch.org/LOTIS/LOTIS.html

(6) http://www.wdm.org.uk/campaign/GATSlotis.htm

(7) http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=12466

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Comments (10 of 10)

Where's the Amsterdam treaty?

by Graham Caswell

Thu Sep 19, 2002 01:59

caswell at indigo dot ie

I started to get into this and read a a bit about it and found out that 'Article 133' was the article of the Amsterdam Treaty that set up this secretive 'Committee 133'.

So I went to the EU website to look for the Amsterdam treaty (its always best to go straight to the horses mount, IMO).

Now, I've used the Internet for years, I have tons of experience searching online and this is one of the key documents ever agreed upon by the EU. Nevertheless, after an hour of trying I STILL CAN'T FIND THE TEXT OF THE AMSTERDAM TREATY ON THE EU WEBSITE.

Please, can somebody show me where the text of this fundamentally important treaty is.

Note: there IS a 'Comptrehensive guide to the treaty available on the EU website. here's what it has to say about article 133:

"Exercising the powers conferred on the Council under Article 133 (Article 133, ex Article 113):

Qualified majority.
Extending Article 133 to international negotiations and agreements on services and intellectual property (Article 133(5), ex Article 113):

Commission proposal - European Parliament consulted - Council acting unanimously."

Well that clear's that up, eh!

Democratic Deficit is right

by Graham

Thu Sep 19, 2002 02:08

Here's a good one from the EU website...

"The view that the Community suffers from a democratic deficit should diminish after the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, which provides for an extension of the European Parliament's powers and a regular supply of information to national parliaments.".

Who know's whether this is true or not - it seems to be impossible to get an actual copy of the feckin treaty itself.

A 'regular supply of information' - yeah, right.

Been doing some more digging

by C.

Thu Sep 19, 2002 10:02

A lot of this is courtesy of IMC's own John B, the wily Cavan raconteur.

The article Graham posts above is actually key to the changes in Nice. Since 1990 there has been an agenda within the commission to 'fast track' negotiations with the WTO. The closest they have got previously is the article in the Amsterdam treaty which provides a mechanism for this on Gats (that stuff about the council acting unanimously along with the commission and the parliament).
This is in reaction to a 1994 court case between, get this, the council of ministers and the commission arguing over who could sign trade agreements on bananas. The court case said the (unelected) commission had the right over traded goods, including bananas, but that they explicitly did not have the right over services. Since Gats has a list of 169 services up for grabs, this was not enough and they tried to get the rights into the Amsterdam treaty. The clause above is as much as they could get - however in Nice the commission is explicitly granted primary competence in the Gats negotiations -

new paragraph:

5. Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall also apply to the negotiation and conclusion of agreements in the fields of trade in services and the commercial aspects of intellectual property, insofar as those agreements are not covered by the said paragraphs and without prejudice to paragraph

Overruling the court case, removing those pesky democrats from any interference with trade negotiations and opening up the appaling vista confirmed by Mr Sutherland. Given that the same procedure has been going on in the US (do a google on 'Crane "Fast-Track" bill, HR 2149' to see their version) it seems that this round of trade negotiations is going to have some very unpopular provisions which need some groundwork to get passed.

Of course, for the EU to be enlarged it is absolutely vital that we privatise large sections of our public service, dismantle the remains of the public sector in Eastern Europe and hand over fair use rights on all copyrighted materials, accept GMO's, advertising in schools etc. etc.

Opposing this is vital - it is nothing to do with Europe and all to do with the corporate agenda. Ask the questions of any campaigners and post your answers here. Lets make this an issue.

The bit above is NOT a clause of the Amsterdam Treaty..

Thu Sep 19, 2002 11:32

The bit above is NOT a clause of the Amsterdam Treaty. It's a direct quote from a GUIDE to the Treaty ('The Amsterdam Treaty: a Comprehensive Guide' see http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/s50000.htm ). I had to do a search of the long, long page for '133' in order to find even this.

As far as I can see there is NO copy of the actual treaty (including the imfamous article 133) available on the EU website. Article 133 and all the other articles in the Amsterdam Treaty are very well hidden (whether due to incompetence or design).

I was looking because I was trying to write a user-friendly article on article 133 and wanted to see (a) the actual article and (b) how many articles are in the treaty all together.

Does anybody know where I could find out this information?

P.S. Don't forget that the reason we are having this discussion in the first place is because we voted No last year!

Pedants R Us

Thu Sep 19, 2002 12:05

Amsterdam:
‘1. The common commercial policy shall be based on uniform principles, particularly in regard to changes in tariff rates, the conclusion of tariff and trade agreements, the achievement of uniformity in measures of liberalization, export policy and measures to protect trade such as those to be taken in the event of dumping or subsidies.

2. The Commission shall submit proposals to the Council for implementing the common commercial policy.

3. Where agreements with one or more States or international organisations need to be negotiated, the Commission shall make recommendations to the Council, which shall authorize the Commission to open the necessary negotiations.

The Commission shall conduct these negotiations in conclusion with a special committee appointed by the Council to assist the Commission in this task and within the framework of such directives as the Council may issue to it.

The relevant provision of Article 300 [ex 228] shall apply.

4. In exercising the powers conferred upon it by this Article, the Council shall act by a qualified majority.

5. The Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, may extend the application of paragraphs 1 to 4 to international negotiations and agreements on services and intellectual property insofar as they are not covered by these paragraphs.’
‘1. The common commercial policy shall be based on uniform principles, particularly in regard to changes in tariff rates, the conclusion of tariff and trade agreements, the achievement of uniformity in measures of liberalization, export policy and measures to protect trade such as those to be taken in the event of dumping or subsidies.

Nice:
8. Article 133 shall be replaced by the following:
‘Article 133
1. The common commercial policy shall be based on uniform principles, particularly in regard to changes in tariff rates, the conclusion of tariff and trade agreements, the achievement of uniformity in measures of liberalisation, export policy and measures to protect trade such as those to be taken in the event of dumping or subsidies.

2. The Commission shall submit proposals to the Council for implementing the common
commercial policy.
3. Where agreements with one or more States or international organisations need to be
negotiated, the Commission shall make recommendations to the Council, which shall authorise the Commission to open the necessary negotiations. The Council and the Commission shall be responsible for ensuring that the agreements negotiated are compatible with internal Community policies and rules.

The Commission shall conduct these negotiations in consultation with a special committee appointed by the Council to assist the Commission in this task and within the framework of
such directives as the Council may issue to it. The Commission shall report regularly to the special committee on the progress of negotiations.

The relevant provisions of Article 300 shall apply.

By way of derogation from paragraph 4, the Council shall act unanimously when negotiating and concluding an agreement in one of the fields referred to in the first subparagraph, where that agreement includes provisions for which unanimity is required for the adoption of internal rules or where it relates to a field in which the Community has not yet exercised the powers conferred upon it by this Treaty by adopting internal rules.

The Council shall act unanimously with respect to the negotiation and conclusion of a horizontal agreement insofar as it also concerns the preceding subparagraph or the second subparagraph of paragraph 6.

This paragraph shall not affect the right of the Member States to maintain and conclude agreements with third countries or international organisations insofar as such agreements comply with Community law and other relevant international agreements.

The problem with all this stuff is that it is amendments to amendments etc. and so is unreadable. The removal of both the Irish and European pages on the treaty

(mentioned here - links dead)
http://www.ucc.ie/ucc/depts/law/irishlaw/amsterdam/

doesn't help.

Amsterdam Treaty

by Librarian

Thu Sep 19, 2002 18:01

http://www.europarl.eu.int/topics/treaty/pdf/amst-en.pdf

thank you librarian

by iosaf mac diarmada = O AS IF - Reclaim the streets!

Thu Sep 19, 2002 19:02

ipsiphi23 at email dot com

codols23 Barcelona 08002 Catalunya

0034 679 708 674

nice to see the lost euro treaties back eh?
check out the signatures reproduced on pages approx 188 of this fine document. we in the underground love the old graphology you know.

and the special protocols for UK and Ireland.
hmmm.
special protocols.

and the old Shengin shenanigins.

frontiers and open borders.

hmmm.

Iosaf Mac diarmada
(O AS IF)
is currently attempting to get to London for the Reclaim the Future conference.
The Irish issued passport is already marked by the UK immigration folk and the French state.
both of which apparently contrevenes the civil rights and liberties of the iosaf mac diarmada entity.
any help and / or suggestions for getting the Elf to Lanhdin by sms text message or email to the usual accounts before Saturday morning please.
HM customs and immigration I love you still even if you don´t recognise gaelic names.
I´ll get ye in the international courts some day and ye know it.
(This really is a good day:-)
RECLAIM THE STREETS!
AUTONOMY BEGINS WITH SELF!
THE TRUTH ALL TOO OFTEN SETS YOU FREE!

thanks.

by o as if = iosaf - rts

Fri Sep 20, 2002 14:05

somewhere on the pyrennes

0044 79 79 324 324

borders as many in Ireland will know are artificial impositions of state apparata.
they are rarely ´natural´.
The pyrennes are crossed.
the mobile is in Barca.
the elfin child is on a trip.
Every day the poor and disinherited and meek of this planet cross borders.
ignore police.
to work
to get food
to flee tyranny.
to get on with it.
Not even New World Order has succeeded in closing one border.
for my friends they don´t exist.
as my german friends in the open borders campaign say
"kein mensch ist illegal"
we have a month to say no to NICE.
let´s say it.

Thanks, but...

Fri Sep 20, 2002 16:08

Thank you very much for pointing me in the direction of the treaty of Amsterdam.

I'm trying to get an outline of the history of Article 133 (or article 113 as it was before Amsterdam). Does anybody know when it was put into the General Treaty of the European Union?

In order to communicate this most complex of issues in an accessible way it has to be presented as a story. And like most good stories, the best place to start is at the beginning.

CALL FOR SOLIDARITY

by sydney activist

Sat Sep 21, 2002 21:04

Hey guys,

Whilst you're discussing all this, please keep in mind that the WTO are coming to sydney, australia for a sneaky secret venue meeting. well, not all the WTO, only the richest 25 finance ministers!

so, sydney is going to be kicking off. how about some awareness raising in ireland. otherwise all your folk will see on the teev is the riots. spread the knowledge.

sydney

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'Article 133 - The Elephant in the Living Room of the Nice II Debate

Comments (10 of 10)