EU-PH free trade talks gain traction, but unlikely to end in March
The European Union (EU) said negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Philippines were advancing at an unusually fast pace but unlikely to conclude at the fifth round in March.
European Parliament officials visiting Manila this week said momentum has been strong since talks were relaunched in 2022, although several issues, particularly market access, remained unresolved.
“We have set two more dates, one in May as well,” said Jörgen Warborn, the EU Parliament’s standing rapporteur for the Philippines, when asked how many more rounds would be held after the next one in March.
“I think there are a lot of possibilities that we will at least do it before the end of this year,” he said about the potential end of negotiations. “My judgment is that there are very positive tones from the European side.”
Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s committee on international trade, described the negotiations as “really dynamic,” noting that the pace was “not the normal” speed for EU trade deals.
Four full rounds have been completed since talks were formally relaunched in October 2024. EU officials said nine chapters have been provisionally closed, including the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter.
By comparison, the EU’s negotiations with Indonesia lasted nine years from 2016 to 2025. Negotiations for a more comprehensive deal with India had begun in 2007, were suspended in 2013 and concluded only in 2025.
Anticorruption safeguards
While negotiations with the Philippines began in 2016 under the Duterte administration, the talks stalled amid what Lange called a “dark period of governance” in the Philippines. Two rounds were held before negotiations halted in 2017.
Asked whether the recent multibillion-peso graft scandal involving influential Philippine lawmakers could affect the talks, Lange said it was “not a major issue” at the moment between the negotiating parties.
However, he emphasized that anticorruption safeguards were embedded in some EU trade agreements. He cited the bloc’s modernized deal with Mexico, which strengthened commitments to combat corruption.
“We should have a clear commitment and also some implementation mechanism, and this has to be dealt with in the negotiations,” Lange said.
He added that EU trade agreements also establish domestic advisory groups composed of business, trade and civil society representatives to monitor implementation and ensure compliance with agreed standards.
Earlier, Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty said the government hoped to “stabilize” the FTA text by June, describing the March round as “critical” to keeping talks on track for possible conclusion by year-end.
Boon for exports
Once finalized, the agreement is expected to support key Philippine exports, such as coconuts, which accounted for $2.66-billion receipts in 2024, and electronics, which delivered $39.1 billion, Lange said.
This deal could make the Philippines the fourth Southeast Asian country with an EU free trade pact, after Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. The EU is also negotiating trade pacts with Thailand and Malaysia.
Lange said an FTA with the Philippines would significantly boost trade, pointing to the EU’s agreement with Vietnam, which increased the volume of bilateral trade by about 15 percent.
Beyond trade flows, Lange said the EU viewed the agreement as a way to position itself as a stable and predictable partner for the Philippines amid a “very turbulent situation” in global trade and geopolitics.
“We, as the European Union, are a reliable partner. We are predictable, so there will be no change day by day, depending on the weather or whatever,” Lange said. “We are stable, and we are reliable.”
