EU, RP initial text of new agreement

MANILA, Philippines - The European Union and the Philippines initialed yesterday the text of a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), the first bilateral and comprehensive agreement between the two parties.

The PCA was initialed in Brussels following the successful completion of negotiations on June 3. The formal signing of the agreement will follow later this year once the necessary procedures have been completed on both sides.

The text was initialed by Philippine Ambassador to the European Union Enrique Manalo and the European Commission’s Asia Director James Moran.

The ceremony was witnessed by EU member-states representatives.

Catherine Ashton, high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy/vice president of the European Commission, welcomed the initialing of the agreement.

“The agreement will give us a framework which is fit-for-purpose for the 21st century. It will strengthen considerably our dialogue, cooperation and action across the whole spectrum of EU-Philippine relations, specifically in the political domain, on trade and investment, justice and security, migration as well as on economic and development issues.”

Ashton said for the past 30 years, the relationship between the Philippines and the EU had been governed by the EEC-ASEAN Cooperation Agreement of 1980.