Korea, EU reach out to public
EU Ambassador to Korea Tomasz Kozlowski, left, and Korean Ambassador to EU Kim Chang-beom speak during an interview with The Korea Times, May 21. / Courtesy of EU delegation to Korea
By Kim Se-jeong
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Korea-EU diplomatic relations this year, EU Ambassador to Korea Tomasz Kozlowski and Korean Ambassador to EU Kim Chang-beom will hit the road on Tuesday for a two-day public outreach “Caravan” program.
The diplomats will give a lecture at Yonsei University on Tuesday. In Daegu, they will also give a lecture to students and faculty members of Youngnam University ― the university hosts an EU-Center ― and meet with local journalists and business representatives.
Kozlowski said, “One of our common objectives is to broaden our relationship and to engage as many people as possible to promote research cooperation and student exchanges.”
“We should know each other better. That’s why we need access to broad communities not only through formal meetings,” he said.
The idea was conceived by Kim, who is returned to Korea for a meeting of ambassadors at the foreign ministry.
Diplomatic relations between Korea and the European Union date back to July 24, 1963, when the Asian country agreed to establish ties with the European Community, the predecessor to the EU.
Kim is the 20th Korean ambassador to the EU, accredited also to Belgium.
On the basis of a Framework Agreement (FA) signed in 1996, an FA for Trade and Cooperation opened doors in 2001 for more meaningful exchanges. The amendment of the FA in 2010 proclaimed a strategic partnership between the two.
Leaders of each party have met for summits six times. Last year, the meeting took place on the sidelines of the Nuclear Summit in Seoul.
“The EU-Korea relationship has been evolving very fast,” Kim said.
A bilateral free trade agreement was signed in October 2010 and went into effect on July 1, 2011. Skyrocketing trade volumes reinforced the EU’s status as Korea’s second-largest trading partner.
Korea has become the EU’s sixth-largest trading partner. The FTA also bolstered the EU’s footing as the biggest investor in Korea, and it will remain the same with provisions on financial services entering into force from July this year.
The strategic partnership formed in 2010 plays a significant role in broadening the scope of what used to be trade-dominated relations.
Under the partnership came the first consultation on the Middle East and North Africa earlier this month and more are to follow on the issues of human rights, climate change, development cooperation, crisis management and counter-piracy in the Indian Ocean.
An advantage for Korea under the partnership is closer consultations on North Korean issues. Despite intermittent provocations, Europe and North Korea have maintained relatively amicable relations attributed to the EU’s focus on development projects.
The EU is one of the biggest aid donors to North Korea, and that is a primary task for seven EU member states that are currently represented in Pyongyang.
In dealing with third nuclear test in February and tensions that escalated in April, the EU harshly condemned the North. It also left its diplomats in Pyongyang despite the North warning them to evacuate.
Kozlowski said he wants more interaction with Korea in science and technology, innovation and education in line with Europe’s Horizon 2020 initiative.
The goal of the initiative is to create new growth and jobs in the EU by boosting innovation, and 80-billion-euro has been earmarked to finance research and innovation projects over seven years starting from 2014.
“Under this program, there are budgets allocated to encourage cooperation with countries like Korea,” Kozlowski said.
Existing schemes are facilitating students and academic institutions in both countries to collaborate. Erasmus Mundus, for example, the EU’s flagship scholarship program, is open to individual researchers and students.
The Dual-Degree Program and the Mobility Program have also paved the way for exchanges between institutions.
An anniversary reception will take place tonight in Seoul.