In 2004, EU25 1 external trade in services 2 recorded a surplus of 42.8 billion euro, compared to 37.0 bn in 2003. This increased surplus was mainly due to a higher surplus in transportation (+13.4 bn in 2004 compared to +7.0 bn in 2003), while the deficit registered for travel was slightly lower (-12.9 bn compared to -13.4 bn). The surplus recorded for “other services” fell slightly (+42.5…
The main components of EU international trade in services were "other business services" (R&D, business, professional & technical services) which accounted in 2014 for 26% of EU total exports and 28% of imports, Transport services (18% and 20%), Travel services (14% and 16%), Telecommunications, computer and information services (12% and 9%) and Financial services (10% and 6%). In 2014, the…
Expansion of trade between countries, to develop production capacities beyond national borders and foster competition at a level above national markets, has been since its inception one of the core aims of the European Communities. One of the original articles of the Common Commercial Policy stated that, by establishing a customs union between them, the Member States aimed to "contribute, in th…
The European Union continued to be the biggest global player in international trade in services (ITS). In 2005, the EU-25´s international trade in services recorded a surplus of €56.9 billion, compared to 47.6bn in 2004 and 38.5bn in 2003. The USA remained the EU's main trading partner. The development of trade with Japan continued to be rather slow. Of all the EU Member States, the UK was t…
Services are increasingly important in modern economies. In 2006, their shares of EU-27 gross value added and employment were 69.6% and 68.6% respectively (Eurostat database). Recent decades have witnessed a steady rise in their importance to the EU economy. The strong and growing role of services is not reflected in international trade. Due to the intangible nature of trade in services, this …
The financial crisis that hit the world economy in 2008 and 2009 has had a huge impact on the international exchange of goods and services. While international trade in services of EU countries still recorded positive growth in 2008 (total exports up +2.2 % after +8.5 % in 2007), preliminary results show it declined significantly by 6.7 % in 2009. It is interesting to note that the exports of…
The aim of this compilation guide is to provide absolute transparency in relation to the harmonisation process applied by Eurostat to each Member State original data. The domain covered is the annual current account data (International trade in services - ITS / Geographical breakdown of the current account - GBR). Each year or quarter, the national banks or the national statistical offices prov…