As Ambassador of the European Union to the Philippines, I had the privilege of participating in the visit of President Aquino to the Brussels based European Institutions in early September. From the first day of the visit, Monday 15 September and for the following day I witnessed the Philippine flag floating in front of the main European Commission building, at the beginning of the long line of the 28 flags of the Member States that make up the European Union. This building is known as “The Charlemagne.” Charlemagne was the statesman who ruled as a single leader over a large part of Western Europe in the ninth century. A pious man who introduced many reforms, he was often known as Charles the Great. The building contains the offices of around 3,000 EU civil servants working for 28 Commissioners (EU equivalent of Cabinet Members), each in charge of a different portfolio. As I looked up at the flags I thought of all the European officials, the Belgium citizens and the many tourists visiting the European capital who would see that the President of the Philippines was at that moment meeting the most senior leaders of the European Union, with a total population of 500 million people and a GDP of $18.4 trillion, the largest in the world.
Coming directly from Spain who joined the EU in 1986, the President first met the President of the European Commission, Mr. Barroso. The Commission is the EU Executive arm responsible for proposing legislation and then putting in place the decisions made jointly by the 28 Member States’ elected government Ministers. The following day, President Aquino met Mr. Van Rompuy, president of the European Union Council of Ministers: as president of the EU Mr. Van Rompuy chairs the regular meetings of the heads (presidents or prime ministers, or chancellors according to each country) of EU Member States. Four Cabinet secretaries (Foreign Affairs, Trade, Transport and Agriculture) accompanied the president at each meeting. The meetings were very friendly and enabled President Aquino to draw the attention of his European counterparts to the impressive economic performance of the Philippines over the past few years: an accomplishment that many European countries can, at present, only dream of. President Van Rompuy in his press statement following the meetings declared: “Today, the Philippines can boast the fastest growing economy in Asia. It is an engine of growth in its region and will progressively raise millions of people from poverty.”
President Aquino and the accompanying members of his government were then able to attend a Business Forum to present to European companies the €16 billion PPP programme of the Philippines government. The moderator of the event, Mr. Giles Merrit (secretary general of “Friends of Europe”) expressed his surprise to see the value of the PPP submitted commenting the amount was almost equal to the PPP of the whole of the EU. Questions raised by the public included ASEAN integration, level of ownership by foreign companies and how easily enforceable contracts were. The President then held discussions with a European Think Tank in another of the EU’s most historic buildings, Val Duchesse. A beautiful mansion set in peaceful gardens in the heart of Brussels, Val Duchesse is where the Treaty of Rome, the founding document which started the whole European integration adventure was negotiated and signed by the first six Members: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Professors and researchers were keen listeners to the President’s presentation of new developments in the Philippines and South East Asia.
President Aquino was also received by His Majesty King Philip of Belgium and Belgian Prime Minister Di Rupo.
After Madrid and Brussels, President Aquino travelled to Paris and then to Berlin, both capitals of EU founding Member States where he met the leaders of the countries and witnessed the signing of major contracts in civil engineering, telecommunications, and mechanical and medical device sectors. Other agreements were signed to boost cooperation in cultural affairs, to improve social protection of workers, to develop training exchanges.
Travelling through Europe for almost a week the President was able to taste Europe’s diversity, from the pomp of presenting the Honours at the “Arc de Triomphe” in Paris and an official lunch at the Elysee Palace, to the anonymous modern offices of European Institutions.
The visit of the President of the Philippines to European Institutions did more than all the efforts made in the recent past to increase the recognition of the Philippines in Europe. It sent a strong signal to European leaders and businessmen that the Philippines is back in business and interested to work with the European Union.
There is a clear sense that decades of relative mutual neglect have come to an end as the European Union and the Philippines have rediscovered their bonds, whether it is the realisation by the Philippines that the EU is the largest foreign investor in the Philippines, providing more than 400,000 jobs in the country, or by Europe that the Philippines is currently the fastest growing economy in Asia.
The communication channels are now widely re-opened at all levels to facilitate the increase in exchanges between the European Union and the Philippines, in the political, economic and cultural domains.