Europe-PH News

THE OUTBREAK of fighting in the Middle East highlights the urgency of nailing down a Philippines-European Union (EU) free trade agreement (FTA) this year, the EU Ambassador to the Philippines said.

Massimo Santoro, the EU ambassador, said that he hopes for the negotiations to be concluded this year, though he offered no guesses as to the exact timing.

“In particular, when we observe what’s happening around the world, I think that I cannot but confirm that the reduction, or bringing to zero, of the tariffs in our trade relationship cannot but help both the EU and the Philippines,” he said.

“I am very confident that it is the right year. I am not going to commit to a specific month. I am really hopeful that it is this year. Let’s say that all ingredients so far are pointing in the direction for this year,” he added.

Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque has said that she is hopeful the negotiations could conclude by June or July.

“We wish to keep the two teams as strongly motivated as they are. And again, if it happens this year, if it happens even during the so-called “tag-init” (dry season), I could not but be happy and very much supportive of that,” Mr. Santoro said.

He said that the latest round of negotiations between the Philippines and the EU earlier this month, was “fruitful.”

“The next round is now foreseen for mid-May, and I am pretty confident that the next round will be a fruitful one,” he said.

“Both the Philippine and the EU teams are doing an amazing job. It is a great synchronization of targets and efforts,” he added.

Meanwhile, he said that the Philippine utilization rate in the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) grew in 2025, higher than the 80% recorded in 2024.

“It was a particularly good one. It is a super high utilization rate … higher than in previous years,” he said.

“I hope it can go even higher. Many variables are there we will be able to quantify only at the beginning of next year,” he added.

The GSP+ scheme allows between 6,000 and 7,000 Philippine goods to enter the EU tariff-free until 2027.

“It is ending in 2027, so this is why I was mentioning that I am very much hopeful that this is the right year for the FTA,” he said, noting that the ideal scenario would be to move from the GSP+ system to an FTA, as it would drastically expand the number of goods and services that the Philippines could bring to Europe tariff-free.

Meanwhile, he said that the war in the Middle East has so far not “created any challenge to the bilateral relationship” between the EU and the Philippines.

“I would even dare to say that somehow, from the political and diplomatic point of view, they even contribute to reinforcing the bilateral relationship because two strongly like-minded partners, like the EU and the Philippines, cannot but work together in order to address common challenges, including this one,” he added.