On a visit to the Philippines, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, together with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced their intention to relaunch negotiations on the EU/Philippines trade agreement. The two parties will undertake an exploratory study to assess their degree of alignment on the content of the future agreement. Only once this work has been completed, and after consultation with the Member States, will negotiations be able to resume.
The EU hopes to sign an ambitious agreement, particularly in the area of sustainable development. It wants to apply its new model chapter on trade and sustainable development, together with sanctions, to the future agreement. It also wants to include commitments on market access, sanitary and phytosanitary procedures and intellectual property.
According to Mrs von der Leyen, relaunching the talks is one way to “accelerate a new era of cooperation”.
Negotiations for the agreement had already been launched in 2015, before being put on pause in 2017 due to the policies of the previous Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte.
Green Economy Initiative
On Monday 31 July, the two presidents also announced the launch of a Green Economy initiative as part of the EU’s ‘Global Gateway’ strategy. The programme will focus on the management of plastic waste. The aim is to further develop the circular economy in the Philippines, for example by adapting certain legislation or developing an information system for collecting and communicating data.
A ‘Team Europe’ contribution of €466 million has been earmarked for these purposes. In this case, ‘Team Europe’ refers to the European Commission, France, Spain, Germany and Finland, as well as the Netherlands and Sweden on a smaller scale. The EU budget will contribute €64 million out of the €466 million.
Digital
The President of the Commission also announced the forthcoming launch (this year) of a “Digital Economy Package for the Philippines”. This involves cooperation between the EU and Manila on submarine cable connectivity, cyber security and 5G.
Climate change
The EU also wants to support the Philippines in the fight against climate change. One of the actions it will be implementing is the establishment of a “data mirror”, via the EU’s Copernicus data collection programme, within the Philippine space agency itself.
Finally, the two parties signed an agreement to increase the flow of data on space observations. In this way, they hope to be better prepared for extreme weather events.
Security
Ursula von der Leyen’s visit could not conclude without mentioning the subject of security, which is essential in the Indo-Pacific region. “We are ready to strengthen the cooperation with the Philippines on maritime security in the region by sharing information, conducting threat assessments, and building the capacity of your National Coast Watch Centre and your Coast Guard”, the President of the Commission told Ferdinand Marcos. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)