BRUSSELS, June 2: The European Union offered improved access for foreign companies to its service industries such as banking, energy and tourism on Thursday, a key step in negotiations for a global free trade pact. The EU’s revised offer comes amid intense debate over how far to open up the service sector across the 25-nation bloc itself, with western European countries anxious about the prospect of low-cost competition from new members to the east.

Sent by the European Commission to the Geneva-based WTO, the offer exempts from international competition sensitive sectors that provide public services. “While ambitious in scope and responding in many ways to requests for access from developing countries, the EU’s offer safeguards public services such as education, health and audio-visual services,” the EU executive said in a statement.—Reuters