The Presidents of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, of the European Council, Charles Michel, and of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, will discuss the Covid-19 pandemic and the coordination of their respective recovery efforts, the bilateral EU/South Korea relationship and foreign policy on Tuesday 30 June. The summit will be the first with the new EU administration and should “further strengthen the partnership between the EU and Seoul”, according to a European source.
The response to the Covid-19 pandemic will be at the heart of the videoconference, which is set to last only one hour. Leaders will discuss lessons learned from managing the pandemic, improving cooperation to mitigate the effects of the crisis and further concrete steps to build global resilience.
Thus, the meeting is expected to share European and South Korean experiences in dealing with the pandemic, to discuss strengthening response capacities, improving information sharing and combating disinformation.
The Presidents will also discuss the deepening of cooperation in research and development of vaccines and medicines to respond to emerging infectious diseases and will reiterate their support for the World Health Organisation (WHO). “South Korea has been quite successful in countering the virus. It is a good partner to strengthen cooperation in the health sector and to work closely with the WHO”, explained a European source.
Leaders will discuss the post-Covid 19 recovery, which the EU wants to be based on green transition and digital transformation. The two sides are also expected to touch upon the possibilities of accelerating the transition to climate neutrality. These are crucial elements for the EU, which aims to ensure “free and fair trade” for its economic operators, the same source stressed.
The three presidents will also review bilateral cooperation.
This year, the parties are celebrating ten years of Strategic Partnership, which was further strengthened recently by a new horizontal aviation agreement signed on 25 June 2020. This agreement allows any EU airline to fly to Korea from any of the 27 European countries.
South Korea is one of the EU's four strategic partners in Asia (together with China, India and Japan). The meeting could notably provide an opportunity to explore possibilities for enhanced cooperation on research and innovation, including the launch of a high-level dialogue on the digital economy. According to the EU Council, leaders may also express their willingness to promote connectivity based on the principles of sustainability, openness, inclusiveness and a level playing field.
Economic Relationship
The EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement will blow out its nine candles on 1 July.
This trade agreement specialises in high value-added and technology-intensive sectors, such as transport machinery and equipment, telecommunications equipment or chemicals. Trade in services is also growing, with the EU recording €5.6 billion of exports in 2017, according to Commission figures. Finally, the EU is the largest investor in the Republic of Korea.
A few stubborn elements of dissension should be highlighted here.
Imports of European agricultural products into Korea face unjustified restrictions, according to the EU. This is the case of European beef, which has long been banned due to risks linked to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). The issue has been raised at various levels, at the WTO SPS Committee, but also by Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan, together with his Korean counterpart, to press for the removal of this barrier to trade. France and Ireland are therefore hoping to win their case soon as Danish and Dutch beef exports are now being marketed on Korean soil since August 2019.
Korea also imposes bans on Member States because of African swine fever - despite its own health status similar to that of the Member States whose imports are suspended. Other products also encounter technical barriers (pharmaceuticals), certification difficulties, intellectual property infringements or customs checks on rules of origin with a willingness to impose penalties (cars, in particular).
Another area of tension in the implementation of this free trade agreement is the problem of Korean infringements of workers' rights, particularly with regard to freedom of association. Recent progress has been observed, according to a European source (see EUROPE 12290/13). A panel was set up at the end of December 2019 and is expected to submit its report in the autumn, EUROPE has learned (see EUROPE 12395/20).
Multilateral engagement
Lastly, the leaders will discuss international and regional issues, particularly the situation on the Korean peninsula. In mid-June, Pyongyang demolished the inter-Korean liaison office and decided to sever official communication links with Seoul (see EUROPE 12508/38).
Finally, Europeans and South Koreans are expected reaffirm their commitment to a rules-based international order, multilateralism, in particular in response to the challenges posed by Covid-19, and the Rule of law. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel and Camille-Cerise Gessant)