 
 RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/L/181 
15 November 2004 
 
 (04-4862) 
Trade in Services Original:   English 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES  
AND ITS MEMBER STATES 
AND AUSTRALIA  
 
Agreement under Paragraph 4 of the Procedur es for the Implementation of Article XXI 
 
of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) (S/L/80)  
 
  The following communication, dated 26 October 2004, from the delegations of the European 
Communities and its Member States and Australia, is  being circulated to the Members of the Council 
for Trade in Services. 
 
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 1. The following communication from the European Communities and its Member States and 
Australia to the Council for Trade in Services is ci rculated in accordance with paragraph 4 of the 
Procedures for the implementation of Article XXI  of the General Agreement on Trade in Services 
(GATS)  (S/L/80), adopted by the Council fo r Trade in Services on 19 July 1999. 
2. On 28 May 2004 the European Communities and its Member States submitted a 
Communication pursuant to Article V of the GATS (circulated as document S/SECRET/8, dated 
11 June 2004), whereby they notified the intention to modify or withdraw the specific commitments 
included in the list attached to the communication, pursuant to Article V:5 and in accordance with the 
terms of Article XXI:1(b). Following the submissi on of that Communication, Australia submitted a 
claim of interest pursuant to Article XXI:2(a) of the GATS. 
3. Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Hong Kong 
China, India, Japan, Korea, Ne w Zealand, the Philippines, Switzerland, Uruguay and the United 
States of America also notified claims of interest under the same provision.  
4. According to the Procedures for the implementation of Article XXI of the GATS (S/L/80), the 
period for negotiations, which should expire three m onths after the last date on which a claim of 
interest could have been made, may be extended by mutual agreement. 
5. The European Communities and its Member States, of the one part, and Australia, of the other 
part, hereby notify that they have mutually agr eed to extend the period for negotiations mentioned 
above until 26 April 2005.   
 
 
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