EU wants to upgrade ties with Vietnam to new heights, says EC vice president
VOV.VN - The European Union wants to kick-start a process of upgrading relations with Vietnam to a comprehensive strategic partnership, said Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Borrell told media workers in Hanoi on July 31 that among ASEAN countries, Vietnam is the country that has signed the largest number of agreements and treaties with the EU. Among the agreements are the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the EU-Vietnam Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation (PCA), the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) agreement.
Both the EU and Vietnam currently have many different levels of cooperation, but bilateral cooperation is not commensurate with the depth of their relationship in practice, said Fontelles, who is also Vice President of the European Commission.
With regard to the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), Borrell said the ratification of the agreement is still slow going in some EU member states.
According to the senior EC official, the EVIPA that covers investment protection and investment dispute resolution, requires the ratification by the European Parliament and the member parliaments to take effect. To date 18 out of 27 EU countries have ratified the EVIPA, and nine EU member states that have not yet ratified the document are Ireland, Austria, Poland, Belgium, Germany, France, Cyprus, the Netherlands, and Slovenia.
He assured that the EC would encourage the remaining countries to speed up the ratification of the document for the sake of mutual interest.
Borrell also acknowledged Vietnam’s efforts in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and said the EU has suggested installing cruise monitoring equipment on fishing vessels, during working sessions with the Vietnamese side.
The crux of the matter is that such measure, among others, should be effectively implemented in relevant localities, said the official, adding the EC expects to receive a Vietnamese report this autumn to consider if it will remove its yellow card warnings against Vietnamese seafood exports to the bloc.
Josep Borrell Fontelles paid a working visit to Vietnam from July 29 to 31. During his stay, he attended the State funeral of Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and met Vietnamese leaders, including President To Lam and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.
