This paper, rather than being a traditional academic paper, presents a short personal reflection upon the involvement of one British NGO, the World Development Movement, in the global civil society campaign aimed at raising awareness of, and objection to, the current GATS negotiations. It focuses specifically upon issues of transparency and accountability within the international negotiation process and the opportunities for citizen participation in what are potentially extremely important decisions. The paper has a particular focus upon the positions taken by the European Union within the negotiations.
Boateng, P.2002: Speech by the Chief Secretary of the UK Treasury, Paul Boateng MP, to the HSBC Global Investment Seminar, 10 October 2002.
2.
European Commission. 2000: Opening world markets for services: towards GATS 2000.
3.
Corporate Europe Observatory/Friends of the Earth Europe/the World Development Movement. 2002: Urgent need for EU transparency in trade talks on services: what the EC needs to understand. Statement to the European Commission, Brussels 24 April 2002. http://www.foeeurope.org/publications/2002/FINAL%20response%20to%20EC%20MAY02.doc and put the date accessed as 10/03/2008.
4.
Hartridge, D.1997:
What the General Agreement on Trade in Services can do
. Director of the Trade in Services Division, World Trade Organisation. Speech to the conference ‘Opening markets for banking worldwide: the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services’, Organised by British Invisibles and the transnational law firm Clifford Chance, London, 8 January 1997.
5.
Hauer, U.
(DG Trade, European Commission) 2002: Letter regarding: ‘Follow–up to meeting on trade in environmental services in WTO negotiations. 17 May 2002’, sent to Vivendi Environment.
6.
McKinnon, M.2001: DTI, LOTIS Committee minutes. 22 February 2001. http://www.gatswatch.org/LOTIS/LOTIS.html. Last accessed on March 10 2008.
7.
World Development Movement (WDM). 2003: Press release: leaked documents reveal UK Government hypocrisy over trade agreement danger. Activists post confidential EU trade demands on web. Tuesday 25 February 2003 http://www.wdm.org.uk/news/presrel/current/109gatsleak.htm. Last accessed on 10 March 2008.
8.
WDM. 2005: Dirty aid dirty water. WDM. http://www.wdm.org.uk/resources/reports/water/dadwreport01022005.pdf. Last accessed on 10 March 2008.
9.
Zoellick, R.2003: Freeing the intangible economy: services in international trade. Speech to the US Coalition of Service Industries, Washington, 2 December 2003.
