On Friday 19 October, the presidents of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and European Council, Donald Tusk, met the Korean president, Moon Jae-in, at a summit marking the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two partners.
The European trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, also took part in this summit, alongside several Korean ministers.
The participants stated that the summit paves the way to increased implementation of bilateral relations.
The highlight of the relations between the two partners is a free trade agreement. This treaty, which celebrated its seventh anniversary in July, has largely proved its worth, according to the two parties.
However, technological and economic developments made certain aspects of this so-called 'new generation' agreement obsolete, a report from the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) notes. And it cited the requirement for direct transport in the protocol on the rules of origin of the agreement, the exclusion of 'truck tractors' from the list enjoying the equivalence of standards, the lack of arrangements on repaired goods, and the implementation of an agreed exporter system as elements that have today become "barriers to trade", making the agreement's update "urgent".
Koreans and Europeans have nevertheless not yet decided on the modalities of this revision. The parties have the option either of strengthening the implementation of the agreement in order to address these points of friction, or of re-opening the agreement, something that would involve a new negotiation on the basis of a new mandate.
While the Commission is asking and obtaining from the member states a new negotiation mandate, the negotiators will also have to agree in order to integrate the new arrangements on the protection of investments. The EU will expect Seoul to come into line with the European requirements of the investment court system.
"In 2011, the EU agreed its first free trade agreement with an Asian country. That country was the Republic of Korea", Juncker said at the end of the summit. And he added: "the beneficiaries of this agreement have been our citizens and our businesses, but if our trade relationship is to reach its full potential, we need to ensure that it is being implemented properly." (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)