The European Union (EU) signed a political agreement on a trade deal with the Philippines. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced this news after a call with Ferdinand Marcos Jr., President of the Philippines. This agreement comes three years after von der Leyen's visit to the Philippines to restart trade negotiations and marks an important milestone in Brussels' efforts to diversify the EU's trade relations.
Details of the Trade Agreement
Von der Leyen wrote on social media from New York, where she was attending the United Nations General Assembly, "We have reached an agreement on [the EU-Philippines Free Trade Agreement]!" However, an official statement from the call between the two leaders indicates that the EU and the Philippines are only "finalizing negotiations on a free trade agreement," highlighting the need for further negotiations to finalize this agreement.
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Final Stages and Challenges
In a separate statement, Maros Sefcovic, EU Trade Commissioner, and Maria Christina Alaguerr-Roque, Secretary of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, announced that they have reached a "significant agreement" that paves the way for the contract to be "officially finalized in the coming months." On Monday, when Sefcovic canceled a planned trip to Manila and instead had a video call with Alaguerr-Roque, some ambiguities arose.
Although it was not expected that an agreement would be signed during this trip, trade representatives were looking for a political signal that both sides were ready to finalize negotiations. Most negotiation chapters had been closed before von der Leyen's announcement in the early hours of Tuesday (European time), but negotiations on public procurement were still ongoing.
A proposed EU regulation that restricts access to public procurement in green and energy-intensive sectors for countries that do not have public procurement agreements with this bloc has complicated the final stages. This issue could affect the process of finalizing the trade agreement and needs to be carefully considered. While the EU seeks to establish broader trade relations, this agreement could serve as a model for future trade relations with Southeast Asian countries.
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