US embassy cable - 05BUCHAREST839

UNCLAS BUCHAREST 000839 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/NCE - WSILKWORTH 
STATE FOR EUR/EB/TPP/MTA/MST - JALLEN 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR 
USDOC FOR 4232/JBURGESS/JKIMBALL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, ECON, RO, WTO, trade relations 
SUBJECT: WTO SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS: ROMANIA WILL NOT SUBMIT 
ITS OWN OFFER 
 
REF: STATE 058384 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Romania does not plan to submit its own 
services offer in May, in view of the country's EU accession 
scheduled for 2007, but fully supports a good result of the 
WTO negotiations.  Romania argues that its future 
commitments as a full EU member will dramatically expand 
after accession and Romania will then be a party to the 
services liberalization that the EU offers.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) EconOff met on April 1, with Minister Delegate for 
Trade Iuliu Winkler, Director General for Non-European 
Countries Radu Zaharia and Director for Americas Viorel Onel 
and, in a separate meeting, with Director General for Trade 
Policy Vasile Radu.  EconOff urged the GOR officials to 
submit a Romanian initial service offer before the May 
deadline, pointing out the importance of Romania's active 
participation in the WTO process. 
 
3.  (SBU) Vasile Radu, the GOR official in charge of WTO 
issues, responded in detail to the demarche, stating that 
Romania, although not yet a EU member, is acting "de facto" 
as one, and has the same high ambitions as the EU and the 
U.S. for the liberalization of services.  He further 
explained that the Romanian position will be subsumed under 
the EU's in 2007 when it becomes a full member.  At the 
moment of accession, the current services covered by the EU 
list will be binding for Romania as well.  Under these 
circumstances, the GOR does not wish to submit a separate 
list of offers and to enter separate negotiations outside 
the EU common position given it would apply for only a short 
period of time. 
 
4. (SBU) Radu continued that, after having seen what 
happened with the new member states after the 2004 EU 
enlargement, the GOR realized that any specific commitment 
which happened to contravene the EU single market 
regulations would necessarily be withdrawn after accession. 
Romania is trying to avoid having to go through this process 
and wants to prepare an accession that is "as smooth as 
possible". 
 
5.  Expressing quietly his displeasure at Romania's 
designation in Reftel talking points as a "developing 
country," Radu observed that Romania is acting de facto as a 
EU member state, sharing the same philosophy, instruments, 
rules and actions.  The GOR, he added, has no interest to 
present Romania as a model for developing countries, but as 
an OECD country. 
 
6.  (SBU) COMMENT:  There appears little chance for the USG 
to convince the GOR to submit its own, independent services 
offer.  The GOR, as an EU accession candidate country, is 
now looking to Brussels for guidance on WTO-related issues. 
Nonetheless, the embassy will continue to reiterate to the 
GOR that Romania should look after its best interests both 
before and after its 2007 EU accession.  END COMMENT. 
 
Delare