GATS: EI Lobby at the WTO
EI held a series of meetings with the officials and negotiators of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as services negotiations resumed in Geneva this week. Monique Fouilhoux, EI’s education and employment co-ordinator, was joined by representatives of affiliates from Australia, Canada, and Denmark.
The EI delegation expressed serious reservations about a new proposal that has been tabled for countries to open up private higher education services under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Several negotiators shared EI’s concern that commitments taken in private education could also expose the public education system to the commercial rules of GATS. A full report of the Geneva meetings will be available in the next issue of our e-newletter, "TradEducation".
