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23 AVRIL 1998. - Act enacting the Fourth Protocol annexed to the General Agreement on Trade in Services, done at Geneva on April 15, 1997 (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The Fourth Protocol annexed to the General Agreement on Trade in Services, done at Geneva on 15 April 1997, will come out of its full effect.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Give Châteauneuf-de-Grasse on 23 April 1998.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
E. DERYCKE
Minister of Foreign Trade,
Ph. MAYSTADT
Minister of Telecommunications,
E. DI RUPO
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
T. VAN PARYS
____
Note
(1) Parliamentary references:
Session 1997-1998.
Senat:
Documents. - Bill tabled on 5 December 1997, nr. 1-805/1. - Report No. 1-809/2. - Text adopted in Commission No. 1-809/3.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion and voting. Meeting of 19 February 1998.
House of Representatives:
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 1441/1. - Text adopted in plenary session and submitted to Royal Assent No. 1441/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion and voting. Meeting of 19 March 1998.

Fourth Protocol annexed to the General Agreement on Trade in Services
Members of the World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO") whose Lists of Specific Commitments and Lists of Exemptions of Obligations set out in Article II of the General Agreement on Trade in Services in Basic Telecommunications are annexed to this Protocol (hereinafter referred to as the "Members concerned"),
Having conducted negotiations in accordance with the provisions of the Ministerial Decision on Basic Telecommunications Negotiations adopted in Marrakech on 15 April 1994,
In light of the Annex on Basic Telecommunications Negotiations,
Consistent with the following provisions:
1. Upon the entry into force of this Protocol, a List of Specific Commitments and a List of Exemptions from the obligations set out in Article II concerning basic telecommunications annexed to this Protocol for a Member shall supplement or amend, in accordance with the terms specified therein, the List of Specific Commitments and the List of Exemptions from the obligations set out in Article II of that Member.
2. This protocol will be open for acceptance by signature or otherwise by the Members concerned until 30 November 1997.
3. The Protocol will enter into force on January 1998, provided that it has been accepted by all Members concerned. Yes, at 1^er December 1997, the Protocol was not accepted by all Members concerned, and Members who have accepted it by that date may, before 1^er January 1998, take a decision on its entry into force.
4. This protocol will be deposited with the Director General of the WTO. The Director General of the WTO will provide each WTO Member with a certified true copy of this protocol and notifications of acceptances of the said protocol in a timely manner.
5. This Protocol shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Done in Geneva, on 15 April, nine hundred and ninety-seven, in a single copy, in French, English and Spanish the three texts being equally authentic, unless otherwise provided in the Lists annexed to this Protocol.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND MEMBER STATES
List of specific commitments
(This list of commitments is authentic in French, English and Spanish)
Modes of supply: 1) Transboundary supplies 2) Abroad consumption 3) Commercial Precence 4) Presence of physical persons
For the consultation of the table, see image
ADDITIONAL COMMITMENTS OF EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND MEMBERS
Subject
This document contains definitions and principles regarding the regulatory framework for basic telecommunications services based on the commitments of the European Communities and their Member States regarding market access.
Definitions
User term refers to consumers and service providers.
Essential expression means the facilities of a public telecommunications network and service
(a) provided exclusively or essentially by a single supplier or a limited number of suppliers; and
(b) that it is not possible to replace from an economic or technical point of view to provide a service.
A primary supplier is a supplier that has the ability to significantly influence the terms and conditions of participation (in terms of price and offer) in the relevant basic telecommunications market as a result:
(a) control over essential facilities; or
(b) use of its market position.
1. Protection of competition
1.1. Prevention of anti-competitive practices in telecommunications
Appropriate measures will be applied to prevent suppliers who, alone or together, are a primary supplier, to adopt or maintain anti-competitive practices.
1.2. Backups
The above-mentioned anti-competitive practices include:
(a) practice cross-subsidy;
(b) use information obtained from competitors in a manner that results anti-competitively; and
(c) not to make available to other service providers in a timely manner technical information on essential facilities and commercially relevant information necessary to provide services.
2. Interconnection
2.1. This section deals with links to public telecommunications carriers or services that allow users under a supplier to communicate with users under another supplier and to have access to services provided by another provider.
2.2. Interconnection to ensure
Within the limits of market access, interconnection with a primary supplier will be ensured at any point in the network where it will be technically possible. This interconnection is ensured (6)
(a) in terms of terms and conditions (including technical standards and specifications), non-discriminatory rates and a quality that is no less favourable than that provided for similar services of the supplier or for similar services of non-affiliated service providers or for affiliates or other affiliates (7);
(b) in a timely manner, on terms and conditions (including technical standards and specifications) and at rates based on costs that are transparent, reasonable, taking into account economic feasibility, and sufficiently detailed to ensure that the supplier does not have to pay for elements or facilities of the network that it does not need for the service to be provided; and
(c) on request, in addition to the network termination points accessible to the majority of users, at rates that reflect the cost of the construction of the additional facilities required.
2.3. Public access to procedures for interconnection negotiations
The public will have access to the procedures for interconnection with a primary supplier.
2.4. Transparency of interconnection arrangements
It is ensured that a primary supplier makes available to the public either its interconnection agreements or a reference interconnection offer.
2.5. Interconnection dispute settlement
A service provider requesting interconnection with a primary supplier will use:
(a) at any time, or
(b) after a reasonable period of public notice,
an independent internal body, which may be the regulatory body referred to in paragraph 5 below to resolve disputes relating to the relevant terms, conditions and interconnection rates within a reasonable period of time, to the extent that they have not been previously established.
3. Universal Service
Any Member has the right to define the type of universal service obligations he wishes to maintain. These obligations will not be considered anti-competitive in themselves, provided that they are administered in a transparent, non-discriminatory and competitively neutral manner and that they are not more stringent than necessary for the type of universal service defined by the Member.
4. Public access to licensing criteria
When a licence is required, the public will have access to the following information:
(a) all licensing criteria and the time normally required for a decision to be made with respect to a licence application; and
(b) the terms and conditions of individual licences.
The reasons for refusal of a licence will be communicated to the applicant upon request.
5. Independence of regulatory bodies
The regulatory body is distinct from any basic telecommunications service provider and does not report to such a provider. The decisions of regulatory bodies and the procedures they use will be impartial for all market participants.
6. Attribution and use of scarce resources
All procedures for the allocation and use of limited resources, including frequencies, numbers and transit rights, will be implemented in an objective, timely, transparent and non-discriminatory manner. Information on the current situation of the assigned frequency bands will be made available to the public, but it is not mandatory to indicate in detail the frequencies assigned for specific uses under the State.
This protocol has not yet entered into force. A subsequent notice will be issued to mention the list of related states and the date of entry into force.
Notes
(1) The broadcast is defined as the uninterrupted transmission channel required for the public distribution of radio and television programming signals, but does not cover contribution links between operators.
(*) Explanatory Note: A few member countries of the Communities maintain State participation in some telecommunications companies. The Member States of the Communities reserve the right to maintain such State participation in the future. This is not a limitation of market access. In Belgium, the participation and voting rights of the State in Belgacom society are freely fixed by the legislative power as is currently the case under the Act of 21 March 1991 on the reform of the state-owned economic enterprises.
(2) Luxembourg asked to be able to defer to 1^er January 2000 telecommunications liberalization. The EC must still decide on this request.
(3) Subsequent applications for licences will be received from 1^er August 1998.
(4) Luxembourg has asked to be able to return to 1^er January 2000 the release of telecommunications. The EC must still decide on this request.
(5) Subsequent applications for licences will be received from 1^er August 1998.
(6) It is guaranteed that service providers or networks that are not accessible to the public, such as those reserved for closed user groups, have the right to connect to public telecommunications transport networks or services in terms of terms, conditions and at rates that are non-discriminatory, transparent and cost-based. These terms, conditions and rates may, however, differ from the terms, conditions and rates for interconnection between public telecommunications networks or services.
(7) Different terms, conditions and tariffs may be set in the Community for operators in different segments of the market, on the basis of national non-discriminatory and transparent licensing regimes, where these differences can be objectively justified because the services in question are not considered "like services".