RP, EU start talks on economic tie-up

The Philippines and the European Union will start tomorrow the negotiations on a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) that seeks to open wide opportunities for greater collaboration in a range of areas, and would stimulate greater Philippine trade and investment links with Europe.

The Philippine panel will be led by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) while James Moran, director for Asia in the European Commission in Brussels, will lead talks for the EU.

The DFA said the idea for a “new generation bilateral agreement” between the Philippines and the EU was broached by the EU during the 4th RP-EU Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in February 2005.

During the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 7) in Beijing, China in October 2008, President Arroyo and European Commission (EC) president Jose Manuel Barroso announced the start of negotiations on the PCA.

In the same meeting, both leaders expressed satisfaction on the level of relations between the Philippines and the EU, and said the agreement could offer greater potentials for an enhanced cooperation.

Bilateral relations between the Philippines and the EU are currently covered under the 1980 ASEAN-European Community Cooperation Agreement.

The DFA said post-1980 developments now require an enhanced framework of relations between the Philippines and the EU, and would open avenues for greater cooperation in such areas as trade and investment, development cooperation, and other current economic and financial matters. The PCA would also provide a foundation for intensifying bilateral cooperation with an enlarged EU.

In preparing for the beginning of the PCA negotiations, the DFA held exploratory talks with the EC on several occasions. The DFA will continue to consult with the various agencies and other bodies as the negotiation process unfolds.

The Philippines will be the fifth ASEAN member to begin negotiations on the PCA with the EU. Negotiations have been completed with Indonesia and are currently at an advanced stage with Singapore and Thailand. The EU has recently begun negotiations with Vietnam and is expected to soon start negotiations with Malaysia and Brunei.

The EU is highly significant to the Philippines. Today, the EU is composed of 27 member states, roughly 500 million people, has a higher total GDP than the United States, and its trade with the rest of the world accounts for 20 percent of the global total.