Today, Mr Andrew Buxton, Chairman of Barclays PLC, announced that he is forming with the support of CEOs of leading European firms, European service industry federations and UNICE the "EUROPEAN SERVICES NETWORK" ("ESN") to provide business input for the WTO's GATS 2000 negotiations.

The ESN - a network of industry representatives from across the European services sector &endash; has as its aims the improvement of market access for the European services sector and the removal of other trade barriers, in particular through active preparation of and substantial input to WTO services and accession negotiations. To achieve these objectives, the ESN will advise European Union negotiators on the key barriers and countries on which they should focus on in these negotiations.

"I am very pleased to see how quickly and enthusiastically the different services sectors have organised themselves to provide business input for the GATS 2000 negotiations. Our negotiating priorities need to be rooted in the real concerns of business and we will be paying very close attention indeed to the negotiating priorities that the ESN identifies" said Sir Leon Brittan speaking in Washington on 24 September in an address to the US Coalition of Service Industries on European strategy for GATS 2000. "This testifies to the great importance now attached by key European firms in all the service industries to the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the need to extend its coverage still further."

There will be a gathering of European service industry leaders - the "European Service Leaders Group". This "Leaders Group" will be chaired by Andrew Buxton, Chairman of Barclays Bank plc, and will bring together representatives from across the European services sector. It includes major figures from the business world such as Percy Barnevik (Chairman of Investor), Sir Peter Bonfield (CEO of British Telecom), Fausto Cereti (Chairman of Alitalia), Sir Richard Greenbury, (Chairman of Marks & Spencer), Baron Jacobs (President of UNICE), Martin Kohlhaussen (Chairman of Commerzbank), Jaime Duró Pifarré (Chairman of the Architects' Council of Europe), Dr Ron Sommer (Chairman of Deutsche Telecom) Henning Schulte-Noelle (Chairman of Allianz), Mr Jess Søderberg (CEO of A.P. Moller/Maersk). The Group will be broadening further its geographical and sectoral representation.

"I have been struck by the highly positive response of CEOs and European services federations and the strong UNICE support for Sir Leon's call for them to work together to press the case for further liberalisation in international trade in services", commented Andrew Buxton.

The structure of the ESN is still being finalised, but will consist of three inter-related components:

- The European Service Leaders Group, composed of some 30-40 CEOs from across the European services sector and chaired by Andrew Buxton, to give the services sector a high public profile in the GATS 2000 negotiations;

- The Policy Committee composed of interested European sectoral services organisations, UNICE and the personal representatives of CEOs, which will implement and carry out ESN activities on an ongoing basis and give substantiated input to the European Service Leaders Group;

- A small permanent secretariat to service both the ESLG and the Policy Committee.

Commenting on the establishment of the ESN, Baron Jacobs, President of UNICE said that "I am delighted that it will be possible to gather together in a single network both leading business persons and the representatives of services organisations from a comprehensive range of services sectors. This opens up a new period of closer involvement by European business in the definition of EU negotiating positions in the field of services, and will enable European services industries, which represent half of the European economy, to make their voice heard in Europe and on the international scene as their importance deserves."

Sir Leon Brittan took also the opportunity of the WTO General Council meeting in Geneva to announce that the Commission is setting up an electronic "Services Information System". The system will provide a rapid means of exchanging information quickly, transparently and efficiently between all participants in rapidly changing negotiating circumstances. The system will cover business representatives from a wide range of services sectors together with representatives of federations and associations. In addition, the governments of all the EU Member States will be connected to the network.

Detailed information about the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the current level of trade liberalisation can be obtained at the European Commission's "GATS Info-point" website : http://gats-info.eu.int

Information on trade barriers "adversely" affecting European service suppliers can be found and registered in the Commission "Market Access Database": http://mkaccdb.eu.int