Disguising Trade in Development Partnerships
Public-private partnership (PPP) once christened to improve on quality and economic efficiency of public services in developed countrie s, is now widely promoted as a development tool that could ensure basic social services in LDCs. Th is paper analyses the doctrine of PPP and the application of various models to LDCs health delive ry systems. It examines different types of PPP arrangements including in international trade, othe r economic arrangements, development PPPs and domestic health initiatives. Examples are drawn fro m LDC countries especially Sierra Leone, to illustrate the practice of respective health PPPs a nd regulatory challenges inherent in complex PPP mix. A crucial issue is the appropriateness of mark eting 'Public-Private for profit partnerships' as a development mechanism for health delivery in poor countries. The paper recommends a more pro- active role for LDC governments in the design, impl ementation and surveillance of health PPPs as essential in achieving health development goals.
Public Services and Trade Liberalization: Mapping the Legal Framework
The impact of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on public services is subject to a vivid political debate. From a legal perspective, an important issue is the sectoral scope of the GATS and the exact meaning of the term 'services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority' in Article I:3(b) GATS. This paper shows that this provision is likely to be interpreted narrowly and that most public services will fall within the sectoral scope of GATS. The reason for this finding lies in the definition of governmental services, which emphasizes the non-commercial basis and non-competitive supply of a service. This definition distinguishes GATS law from the similar provision in Article 45 EC. WTO Members wishing to reduce the impact of GATS on public services can do so through their schedules of specific commitments or seek an interpretation of the GATS, which would give them more regulatory flexibility. Copyright Oxford University Press 2003, Oxford University Press.
Analysis: The Agenda 2007 Proposals: Evolution or Revolution?
On 10 February 2004 the Commission published its proposal for the financial perspective 2007-2013. A week later it adopted the third report on economic and social cohesion. These two documents form the basis of the so-called ‘Agenda 2007 reforms’. They will be the greatest challenge for the enlarged EU after the intergovernmental conference, since they will determine the financial basis for EU policy-making until the middle of the next decade. The Agenda 2007 proposals certainly hint at courageous reforms, because they place a previously unheard-of emphasis on performance and quality. Under the proposals, structural operations should generate value for money, and the funds should focus on projects which generate added value at a European level. Overall the Commission’s proposals point in the right direction, because they balance, on the one hand, solidarity for the new Member States and weak regions in the old Member States with, on the other hand, investments in future tasks. Moreover, they constitute a paradigm shift. For the first time, the Common Agricultural Policy will not be the dominant expenditure category. Now it is up to the Member States to examine the proposals politically and find a compromise between sometimes very divergent interests. It is to be hoped that, during the debate over expenditure limits and division of funds, national interests do not outweigh European interests.