PH, EU to work on setting right conditions about free trade agreement

The European Union and the Philippines will work on setting the "right conditions" for the free trade agreement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday.

This, as von der Leyen had a bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. at the Malacañang Palace.

Von der Leyen said the EU is the fourth largest trading partner of the Philippines, adding that the two parties "can do so much more" when it comes to trade.

"So I'm very glad that we have decided to relaunch negotiations for free trade agreement," von der Leyen said during the joint press statement with Marcos before governments officials at the Palace.

"Our teams will get to work right now on setting the right conditions so that we can get back to the negotiations. A free trade agreement has huge potential for both of us in terms of growth and in terms of jobs," she added.

The resumption of free trade agreement discussions between the Philippines and the EU is targeted to begin before the year ends, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual earlier said early this month.

The exploratory FTA talks between the Philippines and the EU began in 2013, while the launching of negotiations was announced in December 2015.

The first FTA negotiations were held in Brussels, Belgium in 2016, followed by second round negotiations in Cebu, Philippines in 2017. The FTA talks have been idle since.

In March, Pascual floated the possibility of resuming FTA talks with the EU as the government was working towards making the country an upper-middle income economy.

The World Bank still classifies the Philippines as an lower-middle income country as its gross national income (GNI) per capita in of $3,950 in 2022 fell within the bracket for lower-middle income economies of $1,136 to $4,465.

'Springboard for new technology cooperation'

At the joint press statement, of the two leaders, von der Leyen said the FTA could be a "springboard for a new technology cooperation to modernize the broader economy."

"The cost of economic dependencies, we need to diversify our supply lines and make them resilient. This is a lesson we have learned and that is what we call 'derisking' our trade relations," von der Leyen said.

Aside from trade, Marcos and von der Leyen also discussed climate change during the bilateral meeting.

Von der Leyen said the EU has been supporting the Philippines' fight against climate change and extreme weather events.

"We're currently setting up a so-called Copernicus data mirror site within the Philippine space agency. And we have just signed an agreement to boost the flow on Earth observation data," von der Leyen said.

"Between us, this is very important for early warning, for example, for extreme weather phenomenon and to improve the climate resilience. This is a first in-space cooperation in Asia," she added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News