1 Colum. J. Eur. L. 338 (1995)
Piet Van Nuffel. Fellow of the Belgian National Foundation for Scientific Research, Institute for European Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
WTO-agreement; Community competence to conclude international agreements; Article 228(6) of the EC Treaty; Services and the protection of intellectual property.
Agreements Resulting From the Uruguay Round
On April 15, 1994, representatives of the governments of the industrialized world found themselves gathered in Marrakesh (Morocco) to sign the Final Act embodying the results of the Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations. Launched by the Punta del Este declaration of September 20, 1986, these “most complex negotiations in world history”‘ had been going on during more than seven years within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The negotiating partners eventually decided to create a World Trade Organization (WTO), taking the place of GATT as an institutional framework for the conduct of their trade relations with regard to all matters agreed upon in the Uruguay Round. The intention was to have the WTO-Agreement ratified in most of the participating countries so as to allow them enter into force on January 1, 1995 or as early as possible thereafter. The Marrakesh Final Act and the WTO-Agreement were signed, on behalf of the Council of the European Union, by the President of the Council and Sir Leon Brittan, member of the Commission.
