Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of the Philippines, of the other part

In November 2004, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate individual Framework Agreements on Partnership and Cooperation (PCA) with Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Negotiations with the Philippines started in February 2009 and were concluded in June 2010. Following endorsement by Coreper, both sides initialled the PCA on 25 June 2010. The PCA was signed in Phnom Penh on 11 July 2012, on the occasion of the ASEAN Regional Forum ministerial meeting.

The PCA with the Philippines is the first-ever bilateral agreement with the Philippines and supersedes the current legal framework of the 1980 Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and member countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Politically, the PCA with the Philippines marks an important step towards strengthening bilateral relations and the EU’s role in South-East Asia, based on shared universal values such as democracy and human rights. It paves the way for enhanced political, regional and global cooperation.

The PCA contains commitments which are central to the EU’s foreign policy, including provisions on human rights, non-proliferation, counter-terrorism and the International Criminal Court. It also includes areas of current interest such as the peace process and disaster risk management.

The PCA strengthens the sectoral cooperation across a wide range of policy fields, such as migration, taxation, environment, energy, science and technology, maritime and air transport, tourism, culture, money laundering and terrorist financing, illicit drugs, organised crime and corruption.

The PCA considerably broadens the scope for mutual engagement in the economic and trade domain. It has an important trade cooperation section, which should facilitate free trade agreement negotiations. The conclusion of the PCA is in line with the EU's objective of creating a comprehensive and coherent economic and political framework for relations between the EU and ASEAN countries. Additionally, the PCA has an important development component, including strict provisions on protecting the EU’s financial interests.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)925: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:925:FIN

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