No. 78/03
December 11, 2003

The European Commission deeply regrets the decision of the United States to exclude countries that did not participate in the war in Iraq from US reconstruction contracts. This decision is difficult to accept and unjustified. Furthermore, it is a political mistake because it sends a most unhelpful signal at a time when the international community is constructively working on making of Iraq an open, transparent, democratic and prosperous country.  

This is no time to reopen old wounds but to focus on making concrete progress towards that objective.  

As requested at the Madrid Conference on Reconstruction in October 2003, we urge all donors to Iraq including the US to apply open, transparent and non-discriminatory contracting procedures. We therefore hope the US will reconsider the decision announced yesterday.  

The Commission will examine the 26 contracts at stake to determine whether procurement restrictions are in line with the commitments undertaken by the United States in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).  

We also call on the US Administration itself to re-examine the WTO compatibility aspects before proceeding with this ill thought out action. We do not need another WTO dispute at this time.