Liberalisation of Service Mobility in the EU’s International Trade Agreements: As External as it Gets

Abstract

The concept of the EU single market logically implies the adoption of a common extemal position on matters which it is primarily concemed with. In respect of goods and capital, such a position has gradually been formulated. With regard to people and services, national priorities continue to prevent the adoption of a united stance extemally. Concentrating on the EU's commitments under the WTO's GATS Agreement, this article explains how the lack of a common position is due to the incomplete harmonisation of the intemal market This is especially evident in the case of the so-called 'Mode 4' that regulates the crossborder movement of natural persons supplying services. As long as the intemal market is incomplete, the EU's offer in respect of service trade negotiations remains fragmented along national lines. A single EU offer also poses the risk that the lowest common denominator becomes the basis of the EU's common position.