EUROPEAN SERVICES FORUM

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Registration as it was on 08 Jan 2019
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Overview

Lobbying Costs

250,000€

Financial year: Jan 2018 - Dec 2018

Lobbyists (Full time equivalent)

1 Fte (1)

Lobbyists with EP accreditation

1

High-level Commission meetings

11

Lobbying Costs over the years

  • Info

    EUROPEAN SERVICES FORUM   (ESF)

    EU Transparency Register

    3562594969-02 First registered on 15 Jan 2009

    Goals / Remit

    Members of the European Services Forum have have adopted the following Set of principles:

    1. In the coming decades, issues related to international trade in services will present challenges to the multilateral trading system that at least equal, in importance and difficulty, tariff and non-tariff barriers to the development of trade in goods.

    2. While bilateral and regional agreements and initiatives can play a useful supportive role, a firm and widely supported multilateral agreement remains the ultimate goal of services negotiations within the WTO.

    3. Services and other services-related issues (such as investment and public procurement) should be negotiated in all international trade negotiations, with as much emphasis that the one given to trade in goods.

    4. International trade in services negotiations should create much improved opportunities for profitable international business. To that end, they should:
    • be ambitious in their goals for real liberalisation,
    • achieve a broad and deep coverage of services sectors in WTO members and acceding countries, as well as in regional and bilateral trading partners involved in trade negotiations,
    • obtain the widest possible standstill commitments starting at the beginning of each new negotiations,
    • go well beyond these standstills, in order to remove or reduce as far as possible barriers to trade and investment in all services sectors.

    Remaining impediments to substantially full market access and national treatment should be liberalised progressively on an agreed transition schedule. Particular attention should be paid to those services where, not enough progress has been made since the conclusion of the Uruguay Round signed in Marrakech in 1994.

    5. The cross-border delivery of services in electronic form is of growing importance for many services sectors. Therefore, specific attention needs to be paid in the international trade in services negotiations to improving commitments which facilitate that mode of supply for all services sectors.

    6. International trade in services negotiations should achieve greater liberalisation in all four modes of supply of services: cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence and presence of natural persons.

    7. Close monitoring of countries' ratification and implementation at all relevant part of trade agreements should be conducted.

    8. Countries acceding to the WTO must make strong and comprehensive commitments to services liberalisation as part of their accession process.

    9. Among the goals which should be reflected in the commitments made in national schedules the following are of major importance:

    a) The right to establish and operate competitively;
    b) Foreign investors should have the same access to domestic markets as domestic companies;
    c) Freedom to provide cross-border services in highly international-oriented sectors;
    d) Removal of barriers (nationality, residence requirements, etc.) to the posting of key personnel;
    e) Exceptions to commitments should be precise, transparent, temporary and limited to the minimum required for their purpose;
    f) Existing investments should be grandfathered;

    10. Pro-competitive principles to rule-making should be developed, while preserving appropriate regulatory frameworks.

    11. Political and public support for trade liberalisation in services sectors will require greater understanding of the benefits of trade liberalisation and the negotiating processes by which liberalisation is achieved.

    Main EU files targeted

    European Commission Annual Work Programme and Roadmaps4
    European Commission Impact Assessment webpage5
    European Parliament Legislative Observatory6
    EUR-Lex database7
    Work in Progress document - by Parliamentary committees8
    Trade negotiations with US, Vietnam, Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), CETA with Canada, Singapore, GPA, WTO, FTA with Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Mercosur, Tunisia, Revision of FTA with Mexico, Chile, Modernisation of Custom Union with Turkey, Possible EU-UK Future Relationship, etc.

    Address

    Head Office
    Avenue de Cortenbergh, 168
    Brussels 1000
    BELGIUM
  • People

    Total lobbyists declared

    1

    Employment timeLobbyists
    100%1

    Lobbyists (Full time equivalent)

    1

    Lobbyists with EP accreditation

    All Lobbyists with EP accreditation over time

    1 accreditations were / are live (in bold) for the selected state of 08 Jan 2019

    Name Start date End Date
    Mr Pascal KERNEIS 22 Mar 2023 22 Mar 2024
    Mr Pascal KERNEIS 30 Oct 2021 29 Oct 2022
    Mr Pascal KERNEIS 12 Feb 2020 01 Mar 2021
    Mr Pascal KERNEIS 24 Mar 2018 23 Mar 2019
    Mr Pascal KERNEIS 30 Mar 2017 24 Mar 2018
    Mr Pascal KERNEIS 14 Apr 2016 30 Mar 2017
    Mr Pascal KERNEIS 20 May 2015 14 Apr 2016
    Mr Pascal KERNEIS 05 Jun 2014 20 May 2015
    Mr Pascal KERNEIS 04 May 2013 03 May 2014

    Complementary Information

    Mr. Pascal Kerneis, Managing Director is the main interlocutor. He is working daily at ESF and can also represent the organisation towards the EU Institutions.

    The ESF Chairman, (Currently, Noel Clehane, Global Head Regulatory and Public Policy Affairs, BDO) also meet with Commissioners, MEPs and high level EU officials.

    The Chairman of the ESF Policy Committee (Currently, Mr. Tilmann Kupfer - BT Brussels Office) also contribute to ESF lobbying activities.

    Person in charge of EU relations

    Mr Pascal KERNEIS (Managing Director)

    Person with legal responsibility

    Mr Pascal KERNEIS (Managing Director)

  • Categories

    Category

    II - In-house lobbyists and trade/business/professional associations

    Subcategory

    Trade and business associations

  • Networking

    Affiliation

    1)ESF works closely with BUSINESSEUROPE (https://www.businesseurope.eu/) for the daily operations, as well as for the legal, social and fiscal matters.

    2)ESF is member of the informal "Global Services Coalition" (GSC), a loose gathering of similar coalitions of services industries looking at international trade in services negotiations.

    4) ESF has regular contacts with Think Tanks that work on trade policy issues, like ECIPE, CEPS, EIAS and EU-Asia Center.

    Member organisations

    None declared

  • Financial Data

    Closed financial year

    Jan 2018 - Dec 2018

    Lobbying costs for closed financial year

    250,000€

    Other financial info

    All incomes of the organisation come from annual subscriptions fees paid by the members.

  • EU Structures

    Groups (European Commission)

    Group of Experts on EU Trade Agreements #E03556 #http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3556 #Member #C#Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Stakeholder Advisory Group #E02988 #Pascal Kerneis#http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=2988 #Member #B#Finance, Industry, Professionals

    Groups (European Parliament)

    None

    Communication activities

    Our position papers, press releases and other reports are published on our website:
    http://www.esf.be/new/

    Other activities

    To defend the interests of the European services companies that export or do business outside the EU28 in the international trade negotiations, by monitoring the negotiations and being a voice of the members towards the European negotiators, as well as towards the negotiators of the EU trading partners.

    The main interlocutors in the EU institutions are the EU Trade Commissioner, the Directorate General for Trade in the European Commission, the members of the Trade Policy Committee on Services & Investment (TPC SI) of the European Council and the members of the International Trade Committee (INTA) of the European Parliament.

    Interlocutors outside the EU are the international organisations like the World Trade Organisation (WTO), UNCTAD, OECD and the World Bank, as well as the trade ministers and ministries of the EU Trading Partners.

  • Meetings

    Meetings

    11 meetings found. Download meetings

    The list below only covers meetings held since November 2014 with commissioners, their cabinet members or directors-general at the European Commission; other lobby meetings with lower-level staff may have taken place, but the European Commission doesn't proactively publish information about these meetings. For more information about which commissioner is responsible for which portfolio, check out this link: https://commissioners.ec.europa.eu/index_en All information below comes from European Commission web pages.

    • Date 01 Mar 2023 Location Brussels
      Subject Bilateral trade agenda, WTO e-commerce
      Cabinet Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis
      Portfolio An Economy that Works for People
      Attending
      • Cristina Rueda Catry (Cabinet member)
      • Kevin Keary (Cabinet member)
    • Date 03 Feb 2023 Location Brussels
      Subject State of play on key EU trade policy priorities; trade policy pillar of the Green Deal Industrial Plan
      Cabinet Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen
      Portfolio President
      Attending
      • Tomas Baert (Cabinet member)
    • Date 09 Feb 2018 Location Brussels
      Subject Importance of services in the economie and trade agreements
      Cabinet Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström
      Portfolio Trade
      Attending
      • Pedro Velasco Martins (Cabinet member)
      • Maria Asenius (Cabinet member)
    • Date 07 Dec 2017 Location Brussels
      Subject Exchange on EU trade policy in the field of services
      Cabinet Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen
      Portfolio Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness
      Attending
      • Xavier Coget (Cabinet member)
    • Date 07 Dec 2017 Location Brussels
      Subject Data Flows in Trade Agreements
      Cabinet Cabinet of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska
      Portfolio Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
      Attending
      • Kaius Kristian Hedberg (Cabinet member)
      Other Lobbyists
    • Date 13 Oct 2017 Location Brussels
      Subject Trade in services
      Cabinet Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström
      Portfolio Trade
      Attending
      • Cecilia Malmström (Commissioner)
    • Date 26 Apr 2017 Location Brussels Belgium
      Subject Commissioners possible participation at a future event
      Cabinet Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström
      Portfolio Trade
      Attending
      • Jon Nyman (Cabinet member)
    • Date 16 Sep 2016 Location Brussels
      Subject digital trade
      Cabinet Cabinet of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska
      Portfolio Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
      Attending
      • Rolf Carsten Bermig (Cabinet member)
      • Kaius Kristian Hedberg (Cabinet member)
      Other Lobbyists
    • Date 27 Oct 2015 Location Brussels
      Subject EU's trade strategy; TTIP
      Cabinet Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström
      Portfolio Trade
      Attending
      • Christian Burgsmueller (Cabinet member)
    • Date 31 Mar 2015 Location Brussels
      Subject New trade policy strategy, TTIP, TiSA and other bilateral negotiations
      DG Trade
      Attending
      • Jean-Luc Demarty (Director-General)
    • Date 02 Feb 2015 Location Brussels
      Subject Speech at Business Alliance for TTIP's Welcome Reception
      Cabinet Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström
      Portfolio Trade
      Attending
      • Cecilia Malmström (Commissioner)
      • Christian Burgsmueller (Cabinet member)
      Other Lobbyists
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