European Trade Ministers were informed on Monday 27 May of the adoption and signature, before the end of June, of the Free Trade and Investment Protection Agreements between the European Union and Vietnam (see EUROPE 12050/20).
While Member States are generally satisfied with Hanoi's progress in ratifying International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, some Member States have still expressed some reluctance to move forward.
These countries, including Belgium and Spain, reportedly called for a closer link between the ratification and implementation of the three fundamental conventions not yet ratified by Vietnam and the signing of trade agreements with the EU.
The timetable proposed by Hanoi would envisage the ratification of a first convention (No. 98, on the right to organise and collective bargaining) before 30 June 2019, the date by which the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU hopes to have validated and signed these agreements (see EUROPE 12248/24). The Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No. 105) is expected to be ratified in 2020, and the Freedom of Association Convention (No. 87) in 2023.
In addition, the Investment Court System (ICS) still raises questions in some Member States, including Belgium, Spain, Poland and Slovenia, where the scope of the specific opinion of the EU Court of Justice (see EUROPE 12182/18) is still being analysed. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)