Philippines and the EU

12/05/2016 - 17:01

The relationship between the EU and the Republic of the

Philippines is a longstanding one, which has broadened
and deepened remarkably in recent years. Europe's
dialogue with ASEAN began in the late 1970s, and was
formalised in 1980 with the signature of an EC
Cooperation Agreement with the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN). For many years this agreement
was the primary legal framework for EU relations with the
Philippines.

Political and economic relations

Discussions on economic and political issues of common interest, at
both ministerial and official level, have been held regularly since then.
In addition, bilateral dialogues with the Philippines have included
periodic reviews of political, economic and cooperation issues in
regular Senior Officials Meetings.
Once in force, the EU-Philippines partnership cooperation
agreement signed in July 2012, will provide the legal framework for
further engagement and cooperation between the EU and the
Philippines on a broad range of areas, including political dialogue,
trade, energy, transport, human rights, education, science and
technology, justice, asylum and migration.
Since 25 December 2014, the Philippines has enjoyed enhanced trade
preferences with the EU under the EUs Generalised Scheme of
Preferences plus (GSP+). Before that, the Philippines was a beneficiary
of the standard GSP scheme.
Negotiations for an EU-Philippines Free Trade Agreement were
launched on 22 December 2015. A first round took place in May 2016.
The aim is to conclude an agreement that covers a broad range of
issues, including tariffs, non-tariff barriers to trade, trade in services
and investment, as well as trade aspects of public procurement,
intellectual property, competition and sustainable development.

Human Rights
The EU Human Rights Country Strategy for the Philippines focuses on
the following areas of concern:
1.

Support to Human Rights Defenders (HRDs). This support is taken

forward
through
continued
assistance
to
Civil
Society
Organizations/HRDs, through grants under the European Instrument
for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), through individual
programmes of EU countries, and through improved human rights
dialogue with HRDs;

2.

Support to justice sector reform and support for efforts to combat

impunity in the areas of extra-judicial killings and enforced
disappearances. The support includes an EU justice sector reform
project, funded under the Development Cooperation Instrument
(DCI), support to the National Monitoring Mechanism for Extra
Judicial Killings (EJKs), EU countries support projects and HR dialogue
with civil society, as well as the monitoring and follow-up of EJKs
cases;

3.

Support to improve Economic, Social and Cultural rights. The

support mainly includes continued EU development assistance
focusing on poverty alleviation and human and social development;

4.

Support for Children Affected by Armed Conflict (CAAC). This is

done through the EU's support of the peace process in Mindanao,
including the support of the International Monitoring Team (IMT),
support for NGOs calling for protective legislation, and through
supporting respect for international laws and standards.

EU-Philippines Human Rights Dialogue

The EU-Philippines Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed in
2012 calls for the establishment of a meaningful Human Rights
dialogue in the form of a Working Group on Human Rights. Ahead of
the ratification of this Agreement, Human Rights are discussed under
the legal framework of the periodic meetings of Senior Officials (SOM).
The next SOM is scheduled to be held in 2016.

EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy

in the World

Every year, the Council of the EU adopts the EU Annual Report on

Human Rights and Democracy in the World. The 2015 report was
adopted on 20 June 2016 .
This document includes a chapter devoted to the Philippines. In 2014,
the EU continued to engage with its partners, including the national
and regional Commissions on Human Rights (CHR), state actors
(Department of Justice, Department of Interior and local governments),
human rights defenders and civil society.
In its regular political dialogue with the Philippine authorities, the EU
repeatedly recalled the need to address more systematically the issue
of impunity, and bring the perpetrators of gross human rights
violations to justice. Under the European Instrument for Democracy
and Human Rights (EIDHR), in November 2014 the EU made available
1.8 million to pay for projects, which will focus on the protection of
human rights defenders and groups threatened by extra-judicial
killings, torture or others of the worst forms of human right violations,
the protection of the rights of children affected by armed conflict, and
the promotion of the peoples rights in the Bangsamoro territory.
The EU continued providing financial support through the Development
Cooperation Instrument (DCI) and the Instrument for Stability (IfS) in
the "Justice for All programme, aimed at enhancing access to justice
and fighting impunity; building up the Regional Human Rights
Commission in the Autonomous Region in Mindanao; protection of
economic, social and cultural rights of the population, focusing on
poverty alleviation, human and social development, and good
governance.

Trade
With bilateral trade in goods amounting to 12.9 billion in 2015, the EU
ranked as the Philippines' fourth largest trading partner, while the
Philippines was EU's sixth largest trading partner in the region. The EU
became the 3rd largest exporting partner of the Philippines (from 4th).
Philippines' exports to the EU grew by 19% according to Eurostat an
effect mostly due to an uptake in GSP+-related exports (growing by
27% during the first half of 2015).
In 2015, EU share in the total trade of the Philippines was 11% but the
relationship changed from the EU being a stronger import partner to a
stronger export partner of the Philippines. The Philippines moved from
a trade deficit to a surplus of 641 million. Overall, the trend of
increasing trade and investment continued in 2015, a consequence of

more demand, preferential treatment under GSP+ and a more positive

business climate resulting in more business missions from the EU to
the country.
Top products traded between the EU and the Philippines remain
transport, office/telecoms equipment; machinery; and food. Electronics
remains the strongest export product of the Philippines to the EU but
growth (food and manufactured products) in other sectors can be
noted thanks to the GSP+-preferences (processed food, food/agri,
some footwear and textiles).
Philippines total trade in services with the world according to the World
Bank in 2014 is 16% of GDP at market prices (around US$ 46 billion
(38 billion). Bilateral trade in services between EU and the Philippines
in 2014 was 3.3 billion, 5% growth from 2013. Import (from
Philippines) and export (to the Philippines) of services grew by 6% and
3% respectively. The Philippines also had a steady export of services in
the tourism and transport sector.

The Philippines and ASEAN

The Philippines is one of the 10 members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the fifth largest economy in the
region and, with a population of over 100 million, the second biggest
market in ASEAN.
Taken as a whole, ASEAN would rank as the eighth economy in the
world and the EU's third largest trading partner outside Europe, after
the United States and China. In 2013, bilateral trade in goods and
services between the EU and ASEAN reached more than 235 billion.
When completed, the ASEAN Economic Community will constitute the
third largest market in the world, with more than 600 million potential
consumers. Ensuring better access for EU exporters to the dynamic
ASEAN market is a priority for the EU.
Since identifying ASEAN as a priority region in 2006, the EU has been
actively engaged with the region. Negotiations for a region-to-region
FTA with ASEAN were launched in 2007 and paused in 2009 to give
way to bilateral negotiations, which should be building blocks towards
a future region-to-region agreement.
Bilateral negotiations were launched with Singapore and Malaysia in
2010, with Vietnam in 2012, with Thailand in 2013 and now also with

the Philippines. The talks with Singapore and Vietnam were

successfully concluded in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
More statistics on the Philippines.

Trade-related technical assistance

The EU has recast its development efforts on trade to help developing
countries reduce poverty and provide sustainable opportunities for
growth.
Since the establishment of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) as
the trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the
EU has strongly advocated open rules-based trade negotiations to
ensure fair, free, and safe trade. On October 2007, the EU adopted the
EU Aid for Trade Strategy to help developing countries to better
integrate into the world trading system and to use trade to help
eradicate poverty in the context of sustainable development.
The EU also provides considerable development assistance to third
world countries to help them meet their responsibilities in the evolving
global trading system, in which new rules and regulations aim at
ensuring public health and public safety.
The EU is a firm supporter of the WTO, which lays down a set of rules
to help open up global trade and ensure fair treatment for all
participants (http://www.ec.europa.eu/trade/).
The Philippines is fully committed to multilateral trade arrangements
and to the liberalisation of its trade and economy. But a number of
technical issues have impeded its active participation in global trade
and reduced its ability to benefit from such global arrangements.
Towards the end of the 2004, the EU and Philippines agreed to
cooperate to deal with these problems. In 2005, the first Trade Related
Technical Assistance (TRTA) was formalized between the EU and the
Philippines. The EU provided PhP 210 million (3.5m euro) for this
technical assistance. TRTA 1 concluded in the third quarter of 2008 and
was succeeded with two phases of TRTA. At present TRTA 4 is being
developed to sustain the progress made.

Development Cooperation
Over the past four decades, the EU has been a major partner of the
Philippines and has contributed more than a billion Euro (more than
Php 60 billion) of grants to combating poverty and raising standards of

living for the poor. The EU-Philippine relationship has deepened further
in recent years especially with the signing of the EU-Philippines'
Partnership Cooperation Agreement in July 2012. EU development
assistance is closely aligned with the Philippines Development Plan
2011-2016. It aims to achieve concrete results and to maximise the
impact of the EU funding provided to the benefit of Filipinos across the
country.
The seven-year EU support strategy for the period of 2014-2020 more
than doubles EU grant assistance to the Philippines compared with the
2007-2013 period, from 130M (PHP 7Billion) to 325M (PHP 17
Billion). Most of the EU funds are given as grants making the EU jointly
with EU countries the largest grant donor in the Philippines. The new
strategy which is described in the "Multi Annual Indicative
Programme 2014-2020" - is focusing on:

The rule of law: The EU and the Philippines both share a vision
of improved governance and therefore want to increase cooperation
in the justice sector to support the Philippine Justice Sector Reform
Strategy.

Inclusive growth through sustainable energy and job creation:

the EU is keen to help the Philippines' Government to achieve its
ambitious electrification targets for poor areas. The promotion of
renewable energy used in the Philippines is crucial to jointly address
the global challenge of Climate Change.

A particular emphasis is placed on conflict affected Mindanao where

the EU supports the peace process as well as community development
on the ground. The EU remains a key development partner in the
health sector financed on the 2007-2013 budget -and provides traderelated technical assistance.
The bilateral EU-Philippines programme is complemented by additional
money - often channelled through civil society organisations - to
address social issues, the environment, indigenous peoples, human
rights, peace building, and migration.
The EU is also one of the most important providers of funds to support
the Philippines in cases of natural disasters which require emergency
aid, such as after Super-Typhoon Haiyan which brought normous
support from the European Commission and EU countries.

Overview of relations between The Philippines and the EU

The Philippines established diplomatic ties with practically all the original 15
EU Member States in 1948. With the European Community itself, the Philippines established formal ties on 12 May
1964. The Embassy started to serve as a Mission to the European Communities with Ambassador Vicente I. Singian
as its Head of Mission.
The signing of the ASEAN-EC Cooperation Agreement in 1980 strengthened Philippine relations with the EU. Since
then, political and institutional links between the two regional associations have flourished. In 1984, the Philippines
and the European Commission
concluded a Framework Agreement for Development Co-operation that provided the basis for the EC-assisted
development projects in the Philippines.
The EC opened its Delegation Office to the Philippines in May 1991 following the influx of official development
assistance to the country after democracy was restored under the Aquino Administration in 1986.
With the end view of providing a more comprehensive framework to the relations between the Philippines and the
European Union, the European Commission and the Philippine government are now negotiating a Partnership
Cooperation Agreement that would cover a wide range of areas such as politico-security, economic, trade, sociocultural, education, technology and development cooperation.