Marcos meets with European Council President Michel in Belgium

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday (Manila time) met with European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels, Belgium.

Marcos and Michel had a bilateral meeting at the Europa Building in Brussels ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – European Union (EU) Commemorative Summit.

Michel had invited Marcos to Belgium to participate in the ASEAN-EU event.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. meets with Charles Michel, president of the European Council in Brussels on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 (Brussels time) ahead of the EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit. Courtesy: © European Union

During the summit, Marcos is expected to discuss the administration’s priorities, particularly in expanding cooperation in agriculture, trade, and maritime ties.

Aside from the European Union, Marcos is also set to have bilateral meetings with leaders from Belgium, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Finland, and the Netherlands.

According to him, he will bring up the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), a mechanism that allows duty-free exports to the European Union, with other world leaders.

In February, the European Parliament mulled over the removal of some of the Philippines’ trading privileges should the government fail to address the alleged human rights violations in the country.

Marcos also vowed the country's compliance with European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) guidelines saying the government is doing everything to address the latter's observations.

EMSA expressed grievances about  Filipino seafarers such as their reported lack of shipboard training. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA Integrated News