European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held a call as the European Union and the Philippines near the end of negotiations on a free trade agreement.
The talks are nearing conclusion three years after von der Leyen visited Manila in 2023, when the two leaders agreed to relaunch negotiations, the Commission informed in a release on Tuesday.
Von der Leyen welcomed what the Commission described as a positive outcome and thanked the negotiating teams, led on the EU side by trade and economic security commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.
The Commission said the agreement is expected to create new opportunities for businesses, increase investment and support job creation.
ASEAN ties and regional security
Von der Leyen also congratulated Marcos on the Philippines’ chairmanship of ASEAN — the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional grouping of 10 countries in South-East Asia — and said the EU remained committed to concluding similar free trade agreements across the region, the Commission said.
She noted the deal came ahead of next year’s 50th anniversary of EU — ASEAN relations and said she looked forward to returning to the Philippines in 2027 to sign the agreement.
On regional security, von der Leyen expressed EU solidarity with the Philippines over what the Commission described as aggressive maritime claims and reaffirmed continued EU support.
