The Council of the European Union has received a proposal for a Council Decision to sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the EU and Indonesia, including an annex detailing the EU's schedule of commitments on cross-border supply of services. The proposal, published on 29 June 2026, sets out the sectors liberalised under Article 8.16 and specifies market access and national treatment limitations for Indonesian service suppliers. The EU undertakes no commitments for services not listed in the annex, and measures on qualification requirements, technical standards, and licensing continue to apply. The commitments do not cover subsidies and have no direct effect, conferring no rights directly to individuals or companies.
The annex reveals extensive reservations maintained by individual EU Member States, particularly in real estate and legal services. For real estate across all sectors, Member States have lodged specific reservations: Austria requires authorisation; Bulgaria and Romania prohibit land ownership; Cyprus, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, and Lithuania leave commitments unbound; Germany and Italy impose reciprocity conditions; and Poland and Slovakia require permits. For legal services, reservations include nationality conditions in Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Luxembourg, and Slovakia; residency requirements in Belgium, Czechia, Finland, France, Latvia, Romania, and Slovenia; and restrictions on representation before courts and the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
The proposal marks a step towards finalising the EU-Indonesia CEPA, which has been under negotiation for several years. The agreement aims to boost trade and investment between the two economies, but the limited commitments on cross-border services and the extensive Member State reservations reflect the EU's cautious approach to liberalising services trade. The proposal now awaits adoption by the Council, after which the agreement can be signed and subsequently submitted to the European Parliament for consent.
The impact on stakeholders is mixed. Indonesian service suppliers gain improved market access in listed sectors, but face significant barriers in real estate and legal services due to Member State reservations. EU consumers may benefit from increased competition in some service sectors, but the limited scope of commitments means the overall effect will be modest. EU businesses in liberalised sectors could see new opportunities in Indonesia, while those in protected sectors face no additional competition. National regulators retain substantial autonomy to regulate services, preserving policy space for public interest objectives.