services

Article 54: Development of the Services Sector

  1.        COTED shall, in collaboration with the appropriate Councils, promote the development of the services sector in the Community in order to stimulate economic complementarities among,   and accelerate economic development in, the Member States. In particular, COTED shall promote measures to achieve:

(a)        increased investment in services;

(b)        increased  volume,  value  and  range  of  trade  in  services  within  the Community and with third States;

(c)        competitiveness in the modes of delivering services; and

(d) enhanced enterprise and infrastructural development, including that of micro and small service enterprises.

 

  1.         In order to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 1, the Member States shall, through the appropriate Councils, collaborate in:

(a) designing programmes for the development of human resources to achieve competitiveness in the provision of services;

(b) establishing a regime of incentives for the development of and trade in services; and

(c) adopting  measures  to  promote  the  establishment  of  an  appropriate institutional and administrative framework and, in collaboration with the Legal Affairs Committee, promote the establishment of the appropriate legal framework to support the services sector in the Community.

 

  1.         In  the  establishment of  programmes and  policies of  the  Community for  the development of the services sector, the relevant Councils shall give priority to:

(a)    the efficient provision of infrastructural services including telecommunications, road, air, maritime and riverain transportation, statistical data generation and financial services;

(b) the  development  of  capacity-enhancing  services  including  education services, research and development services;

(c)        the development of services which enhance cross-sector competitiveness; (d)        the facilitation of cross-border provision of services which enhance the

competitiveness of the services sector; and

(e)        the development of informatics and other knowledge-based services.

Article 37: Removal of Restrictions on Provision of Services

 

  1. Subject to the provisions of this Treaty, Member States shall abolish discriminatory restrictions on the provision of services within the Community in respect of Community nationals.
  1. Subject to the approval of the Conference, COTED, in consultation with other competent Organs, shall,   within one year from the entry into force of this Treaty, establish a programme for the removal of restrictions on the provision of such services in the Community by Community nationals.
  1. In establishing the programme mentioned in paragraph 2 of this Article, COTED shall:
    (a) accord priority to services which directly affect production costs or facilitate the trade in goods and services which generate foreign exchange earnings;

(b)        require  the  Member  States  to  remove  administrative  practices  and procedures, the maintenance of which impede the exercise of the right to provide services;

(c)        establish measures to ensure the abolition of restrictions on the right to provide services in  respect of  activities accorded priority treatment in accordance with sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph, both in terms of conditions for the provision of services in the territories of Member States as well as the conditions governing the entry of personnel, including their spouses and immediate dependent family members, for the provision of services;

(d)        take appropriate measures to ensure close collaboration among competent national authorities in order to improve their knowledge of the conditions regarding relevant activities within the Community, and

(e)        require the Member States to ensure that nationals of one Member State have on a non-discriminatory basis, access to land, buildings and other property situated in the territory of another Member State for purposes directly related to the provision of services, bearing in mind the importance of agriculture for many national economies.

Article 36: Prohibition of New Restrictions on the Provision of Services

  1. The Member States shall not introduce any new restrictions on the provision of services in the Community by nationals of other Member States except as otherwise provided in this Treaty.
  1. Without prejudice to the provisions relating to the right of establishment, persons providing services may, in order to provide such services, temporarily engage in approved activities in the Member State where the services are to be provided under the same conditions enjoyed by nationals of that Member State.
  1. The Member States shall notify COTED of existing restrictions on the provision of services in respect of nationals of other Member States.
  1. For the purposes of this Chapter, “services” means services provided against remuneration other than wages in any approved sector and “the provision of services” means the supply of services:

(a)        from the territory of one Member State into the territory of another   Member  State;

(b)        in the territory of one Member State to the service consumer of another Member State;

(c)        by a service supplier of one Member State through commercial presence in the territory of another Member State; and

(d)        by a service supplier of one Member State through the presence of natural persons of a Member State in the territory of another Member State.