Statement delivered by the Delegation of the Republic of Moldova

GPA Committee
UK accession to the agreement
(17.10.2018)

Thank You, Chairman,

I would like to congratulate the distinguished delegation from UK for their commitment and
efforts throughout the accession process and wish them utmost success in the future months
leading to Brexit.

Our countries have always had strong diplomatic ties, both on the bilateral and multilateral level.
We hope that this tradition of positive cooperation will be continued and progressively
developed after UK’s exit from the European Union.

We are pleased to note an efficient cooperation between the United Kingdom and the European
Union in order to ensure a smooth transition of the UKs membership to the GPA and ensure that
UK remains, in its own rights, subject to the rights and obligations it currently has under the
Government Procurement Agreement as an European Union member state.

We commend the exemplary engagement proven by the UK government throughout the

accession process. We held 4 successful bilateral negotiations: one in May, two in June, and the
fourth this Monday, when we had the chance to address 4 questions to the UK’s offer, three of
which were answered promptly and satisfactory. On the 4th pending issue we are still working
closely with the UK government to find a mutually beneficial, win-win solution for economic
suppliers and bidders from both the UK and the Republic of Moldova.

Mr. Chairman,

The Government Procurement Agreement is a very important instrument for the Republic of
Moldova. It aims to open up government procurement markets to international competition,
provides legal guarantees of transparency and non-discrimination with regards to access to the
GPA covered procurement markets of goods, services and suppliers of the parties to the
Agreement.

The process of acceding to the GPA was one of the commitments that our government took very
seriously. We put a lot of effort into the challenging and long-lasting process of accession and
we appreciate the constructive engagement and support of all the GPA members throughout it.

Our accession to the GPA was possible only when all the other parties to the agreement were
convinced that we are ready to implement the GPA provisions in their entirety. The government
of RM performed several serious legislative reforms in order to bring our national legal
framework in accordance with the standards imposed by the GPA and the commitments
undertaken upon accession: to ensure that public procurement regulations respect the principles
of transparency, non-discrimination and equal treatment.

The principle of non-discrimination is the cornerstone of the GPA. Embedded in article IV.1,
it provides that: (and I quote) „with respect to any measure regarding covered procurement, each
Party, including its procuring entities, shall accord immediately and unconditionaly to the
goods and services of any other party and to the suppliers of any other party offering the
goods and services of any Party, treatment no less favorable than the treatment of the Party,
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including its procuring entities, accords to: a) domestic goods, services and suppliers and b)
goods, services and suppliers of any other Party” (end of quote).

I would like to draw your attention to the words immediately and unconditionally, which
prevent any member to justify any delay in the implementation of the non-discrimination
principle. Even more than so, Article V.4 of the GPA – that provides the possibility to post-pone
the application of any specific obligations in this Agreement by an acceeding developing country
– establishes the clear exception that any obligations can be delayed „other than article
IV:1(B)”. Therefore, derogations from article IV:1 (b) – establuishing equal and non-
descrimination between suppliers from any party to the GPA are not allowed under any
circumstances.

Currently, bidders from the Republic of Moldova can not enjoy the same, not less favorable
treatment than the one granted by the United Kingdom to other GPA members. The burdensome
visa application process, which can take between 2 and 3 weeks is still a challenge for Moldovan
economic agents and precludes reciprocal benefits from the market access advantages offered by
the Government Procurement Agreement. This issue was raised many times on the regional,
bilateral and multilateral level with the UK representatives.

In the context of visa applications, Moldovan bidders are imposed to support additional costs and
delays, as the processing of the application set of documents takes place in Warsaw, Poland. At
the same time, Republic of Moldova has unilaterally liberalized visas for all the UK citizens,
especially for bidders and economic suppliers from UK starting with January 2007. The
asymmetry that can be observed in the reciprocity of the bilateral commitments between RM and
UK on the issue of visas, begs the question whether Article IV.1 of the GPA can be immediately
and unconditionally implemented by the United Kingdom. Bidders from only 3 GPA parties
encounter the same treatment, including Republic of Moldova.

Mr. Chairman,

Republic of Moldova believes that United Kingdom belongs to the international procurement
market and we are confident that UK should be part and parcel of the Government Procurement
Agreement. We welcome UK’s endeavor to have a smooth transition in the aftermath of Brexit
and become a member of the GPA in its own rights. We also appreciate the diplomatic effort of
the UK’s motivated and professional delegation and we are very grateful for their constructive
and active engagement in addressing member’s concerns.

However, considering that our bilateral efforts to address the outstanding question we have
raised to the UK’s offer are still ongoing, and there are two upcoming meetings between
high level officials from the Republic of Moldova and UK this Friday and the next week,
we are looking forward to receiving a substantial, written engagement from the UK’s
authorities regarding our pending concern and we support the suggestion put forward by
the US delegation to revert to this item at the end of October or in November.

Thank you, Chairman.