European firms miss out in Iraq
The announcement that Iraqi reconstruction contracts, worth billions of euro, will only go to firms from countries which supported the war in Iraq, has been met with consternation in much of Europe.
The US government yesterday (11 December), announced that the projects, said to be worth an estimated 15.2 billion euro ($18.6bn) will not go to countries like France, Germany or Russia, who opposed the war in Iraq.
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This has brought an angry reaction in those countries, with Russia threatening to not scrap Iraq’s debts to the country.
The European Commission last night said it would be examining whether the decision was in line with world trade rules on government procurement.
"As a first measure the European Commission will be requesting all necessary information from the US authorities concerned on the grounds for these limitations", the Commission said in a statement.
It is unclear if any EU legal challenge would be successful.
World Trade Organisation rules to safeguard non-discriminatory government tendering do allow for discrimination on the basis of national security.
Washington has said it would like to see more countries join the coalition, indicating that the list is not closed and could be expanded.