The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, travelled to Seoul on Monday 22 May for the EU-Republic of Korea Summit to meet with President Yoon Suk-Yeol and to strengthen their strategic partnership on green and digital transition, health, research and economic security, as well as to reaffirm their joint commitment to securing global order.
South Korea was the first Asian country with which the EU concluded a free trade agreement in 2010, and this year marks 60 years of bilateral relations between these “trusted partners”.
Securing world order
In a joint statement, they reaffirmed their cooperation to address “threats to global peace and security, such as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the nuclear and missile programmes of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)”.
Ursula von der Leyen welcomed South Korea’s stance towards Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine. “You have condemned this war of aggression from the outset. You are coordinating with us and other international partners on tough sanctions against the Russian war economy. And you are delivering much-needed financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and its people. This is to your credit. And this shows, once again, the strength of our bond”.
With regard to the security of the Indo-Pacific region, “we also stressed the importance of preserving stability and the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. We are working together to build a dynamic and rules-based Indo-Pacific region”, assured Charles Michel.
Finally, the Presidents of the Commission and the European Council reiterated their solidarity in the face of the continuing nuclear threat from the DPRK.
They also proposed to work with the Republic of Korea on “a positive agenda” for the Indo-Pacific region and to do so within the framework of the Global Gateway investment strategy, which is already engaged in the region with a package of investments for ASEAN countries.
In the field of security and defence, the partners agreed to launch a strategic dialogue covering crisis management, maritime security, cyber security and the fight against terrorism.
Green transition
At the Summit, the Commission President and the Korean President launched a ‘Green Partnership’ to exchange best practice on climate action and to strengthen bilateral cooperation on this issue.
In this framework, both partners reaffirm their commitment to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5°C and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest.
The two partners are focusing on biodiversity loss, deforestation and the circular economy, among other things, but also want to intensify their cooperation on renewable energy development, energy efficiency and renewable and low-carbon hydrogen.
Digital and technological transition
Last year, the EU and South Korea launched a ‘Digital Partnership’ to strengthen cooperation in the development of critical technologies, such as semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence. At the Summit, the partners reaffirmed their cooperation in this area.
The discussions also covered the ongoing negotiations on digital trade rules.
Research and innovation
The partners also announced that formal negotiations have been initiated and are expected to continue in the coming months on South Korea’s association with the EU’s framework programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe.
This association would allow Korean research and innovation actors to participate in the programme’s Pillar 2 calls on global challenges.
Pending formal association, Korean research entities may continue to participate in Horizon Europe under the programme’s principle of openness to the world.
Health security
They also reaffirmed the commitments made in the Global Health Security Agenda, including the new Seoul Declaration, to work together to “enhance global coordination against future health crises, strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response and to reform health-related governance, notably by means of a new WHO pandemic agreement and revision of the International Health Regulations” as stated in the joint communiqué.
Economic security
At the G7 meeting in Hiroshima on 19, 20 and 21 May (see other news), Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel had already discussed the interdependence of global supply chains. “With President Yoon, we also focused on strengthening the resilience of our supply chains, especially in strategic industries, as well as for critical technologies and raw materials”, Michel said.
To see the joint press release: https://aeur.eu/f/70a (Original version in French by Pauline Denys and Emilie Vanderhulst)