As part of a visit to South-East Asia, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström was due to make a two-day stopover in Singapore on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 March, in order to reiterate the EU's commitment to a swift application of the EU-Singapore free trade agreement.
During her visit, Malmström was due to meet Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang. She was also due to give a speech at Singapore University on strengthening bilateral links. In addition, she was due to visit the enormous Port of Singapore – the busiest transit port in the world, attracting over 140,000 ships per year.
The EU-Singapore free trade agreement was the first bilateral free trade agreement between the EU and one of the ASEAN countries. It was concluded in December 2012 (see EUROPE 10753) and initialled in September 2013 (see EUROPE 10926), with its investment chapter being completed in October 2014 (see EUROPE 11719).
In October 2014, the Commission requested the opinion of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) on the competence for signing and ratifying this agreement (see EUROPE 11188). In conclusions published in December 2016, the advocate general considered that the EU did not have the exclusive competence to sign and conclude this agreement (see EUROPE 11694). The CJEU's decision (opinion) will be handed down in 2017.
Singapore is the EU's top trading partner in the ASEAN bloc, accounting for 25% of the region's trade in goods and over 50% of its trade in services with the EU. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)