Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

According to figures released by Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office in Brussels, EU member states imported €3.471 billion worth of services from non-EU countries in 2024.

This information is drawn from official statistics on international trade in services by supply mode, published by Eurostat in a statement. The statement also indicated that the majority of services (58.9%; €2.044 billion) were imported through a business presence within the reporting country (Model 3). Cross-border supply (Model 1) accounted for 31.3% of imports (€1.087 billion), consumption abroad (Model 2) for 6.6% (€2.29 billion), and the presence of individuals (Model 4) for 3.2% (€1.11 billion).

In 22 EU member states, the majority of service imports originated from a business presence within their territory (Model 3). The highest percentages of imports via commercial presence were recorded in Bulgaria (81.7%), Hungary (78.1%), and Spain (74.5%).

Cross-border supply (Model 1) was the dominant pattern in Greece, accounting for 68.8% of imports. Cyprus (43.8%), Sweden (37.7%), and Denmark (37.4%) also recorded high percentages.

Consumption abroad (Model 2) played a significant role in Denmark, representing 22.3% of imports. France (12.1%), Lithuania (10.8%), Croatia (10.4%), and Italy (10.3%) also recorded notable percentages. For the rest of the EU, consumption abroad accounted for less than 10% of total imports.

The presence of individuals (Model 4) was most pronounced in Cyprus and Denmark, at 7.3% each, and in Belgium (5.4%). The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the first multilateral agreement covering trade in services, defines trade in services as the supply of a service through any of the following four supply modes:

Mode 1 – Cross-border supply: from the territory of one country to the territory of another;

Mode 2 – Foreign consumption: from the territory of one country to a consumer of the service in another country;

Mode 3 – Business presence: by a service provider from one country, through a business presence in the territory of another country. The Foreign Subsidiary Statistics Framework (FATS) aims to provide information on the activities of companies operating in foreign markets.

Mode 4 – Natural person presence: by a service provider from one country, through the presence of natural persons from that country in the territory of another country.

For example, legal services can be provided to a client in four separate ways: providing legal advice to the client abroad via electronic channels (Mode 1), the client visiting the lawyer's office from abroad (Mode 2), the lawyer establishing a branch abroad to provide legal services (Mode 3), and the lawyer traveling abroad to provide legal services to the client (Mode 4).

Eurostat estimated Method 3 imports for 2024, using the Eurostat-WTO model and FATS incoming data for 2023; expert opinions were used to estimate missing data.