Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 1) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said the European Union (EU) wants to finalize the free trade talks with the Philippines so they can finally reap the benefits of the trade agreement.
“As soon as possible is basically the message. There are a lot of benefits waiting to be pushed forward so a free trade agreement is always very important as it says for trade, but it’s good for people, it’s good for cross border, it’s good for businesses,” she told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
On Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he and the EU official “concluded a successful and productive bilateral meeting” during Der Leyen’s official visit to the Philippines. Among the topics they discussed was working on the resumption of the discussions on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).
The chief executive in May called for the resumption of the talks on the proposed FTA as the “timing and conditions are now quite ripe for us to solidify the long-standing and historically beneficial trade relations.”
Exploratory talks on the proposed FTA between the EU and the Philippines happened in 2013. Formal negotiations began in May 2016, while the second and last round was conducted in February 2017.
“It’s high-time to do that. We asked our staff to work intensively and this is good news for both sides,” Der Leyen said.
She noted the “strong political will” coming from both sides which will be beneficial for the talks.
According to Der Leyen, one of the matters that should be settled during the talks is the alignment of standards.
