By Maria Castillo Fernandez
The year 2023 is a special year for the European Union and the Republic of Korea as we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. The EU-ROK relationship is deep and governed by three key agreements: an encompassing Framework Agreement and an ambitious Free Trade Agreement decided in 2010 and since 2014, a Framework Participation Agreement allowing for the ROK's participation in EU crisis management missions. Thus, our "hwangap" is not the end of a cycle but signals a fresh start toward a new era together.
In light of the current heightened geopolitical tensions, it is worth recalling what kind of partner the European Union represents for Korea. The EU is first and foremost a peace project. On May 9, 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presented his bold idea of a new form of political cooperation in Europe making war between Europe's nations unthinkable. Since then, the EU and its citizens have continued enjoying seven decades of unprecedented peace, democracy, prosperity and security. This is why the EU recently celebrated Europe Day on May 9.
The EU is also a major global provider of security, development and environmental protection. Some of the major success stories are the EU response to COVID-19, EU investments to promote a green and digital transformation, as well as our assistance to Ukraine against Russia's illegal war. Such successes rely on close cooperation with like-minded partners such as the ROK.
The EU-ROK strategic partnership has enabled us to work closely on meeting global challenges. The Indo-Pacific region represents a major area for our bilateral cooperation against the backdrop of the region's economic, demographic, political weight and numerous security challenges. Our respective Indo-Pacific strategies structure our joint efforts to strengthen the rules-based order, stability, security and sustainable development in the Indo-Pacific. We are also seeking to intensify our cooperation on economic security and supply chains, digital and science/technology issues, as well as climate change and energy.
Russia's war against Ukraine is not an isolated European issue; it is about the kind of world we all want to live in. Indeed, no one is safe in a world where the illegal use of force is somehow normalized. The world is watching and we all need to step up to the challenge. The EU stands united in its unwavering support of Ukraine, notably through continuous financial support with more than 67 billion euros mobilized so far.
We will stand by Ukraine's side as long as it takes and we are thus grateful for the ROK's support in condemning Russian aggression, sanctioning the Russian regime and providing humanitarian support to Ukraine. We were also encouraged to see that President Yoon Suk Yeol recently said he believes there will be no limitations to the extent of Korea's support to defend and restore an illegally invaded country. Furthermore, the EU has not forgotten that as an energy crisis was looming in Europe in 2022, the ROK showed solidarity by re-routing LNG shipments toward Europe.
The EU will stand steadfast by the ROK to work toward peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. We will continue cooperating to convince the DPRK to cease missile launches and other actions that raise military tensions, resume dialogue and abandon its weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles and related programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner as required under multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. To this end, the EU supports the objectives of the ROK's Audacious Initiative aimed at achieving a denuclearized, peaceful and prosperous Korean peninsula.
South Korea's transformation into the 10th-largest economy in the world and the sixth-largest trading country globally is remarkable. The ROK-EU Free Trade Agreement is underpinned by a remarkable rise in bilateral trade and this represents the bedrock of the EU-ROK robust economic relationship. The EU is now Korea's third-largest trade partner and Korea represents the EU's ninth-largest trade partner. The EU remains South Korea's biggest foreign direct investor, ahead of Japan and the U.S.
As leading trading nations, the EU and the ROK are strong supporters of the free and fair trade order, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core. We support strengthening and reforming the WTO as a central pillar of the rules-based trading system. The EU wishes to strengthen economic cooperation with the ROK, inter alia on economic security, on developing early warning systems to detect and address potential supply chain disruptions, as well as on market access for agri-food products.
The recently signed ROK-EU Digital Partnership is very promising as it will foster collaboration on semiconductors, the next generation of mobile networks, quantum and High Performance Computing (HPC), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and online and digital platform regulations. The ROK-EU Digital Trade Principles pave the way for the negotiation of binding commitments on digital trade, and further cooperation on personal data protection. The EU is also looking forward to the opening of negotiations on the ROK's association with Horizon Europe, the EU's framework research program.
On climate, we are continuously enhancing cooperation as part of our ambitious commitment to the transition for a sustainable and climate-neutral community, an important signal to the international community.
The EU and Korea have reinforced their respective foreign policies as well as security and defense capabilities to adjust to new extraordinary circumstances. We, therefore, need to strengthen our cooperation on security and defense, including maritime security, cybersecurity, foreign information manipulation and interference as well as counter-terrorism.
In this exceptional anniversary year and in such a rich context of bilateral cooperation and like-mindedness, we are setting the course for the future path of our ever-growing strategic partnership. This is exactly what President Yoon, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will do when they meet for the upcoming EU-ROK Summit in Seoul.
Maria Castillo Fernandez is ambassador of the European Union to Korea.
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| Ambassador of European Union to Korea Maria Castillo-Fernandez |
In light of the current heightened geopolitical tensions, it is worth recalling what kind of partner the European Union represents for Korea. The EU is first and foremost a peace project. On May 9, 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presented his bold idea of a new form of political cooperation in Europe making war between Europe's nations unthinkable. Since then, the EU and its citizens have continued enjoying seven decades of unprecedented peace, democracy, prosperity and security. This is why the EU recently celebrated Europe Day on May 9.
The EU is also a major global provider of security, development and environmental protection. Some of the major success stories are the EU response to COVID-19, EU investments to promote a green and digital transformation, as well as our assistance to Ukraine against Russia's illegal war. Such successes rely on close cooperation with like-minded partners such as the ROK.
The EU-ROK strategic partnership has enabled us to work closely on meeting global challenges. The Indo-Pacific region represents a major area for our bilateral cooperation against the backdrop of the region's economic, demographic, political weight and numerous security challenges. Our respective Indo-Pacific strategies structure our joint efforts to strengthen the rules-based order, stability, security and sustainable development in the Indo-Pacific. We are also seeking to intensify our cooperation on economic security and supply chains, digital and science/technology issues, as well as climate change and energy.
Russia's war against Ukraine is not an isolated European issue; it is about the kind of world we all want to live in. Indeed, no one is safe in a world where the illegal use of force is somehow normalized. The world is watching and we all need to step up to the challenge. The EU stands united in its unwavering support of Ukraine, notably through continuous financial support with more than 67 billion euros mobilized so far.
We will stand by Ukraine's side as long as it takes and we are thus grateful for the ROK's support in condemning Russian aggression, sanctioning the Russian regime and providing humanitarian support to Ukraine. We were also encouraged to see that President Yoon Suk Yeol recently said he believes there will be no limitations to the extent of Korea's support to defend and restore an illegally invaded country. Furthermore, the EU has not forgotten that as an energy crisis was looming in Europe in 2022, the ROK showed solidarity by re-routing LNG shipments toward Europe.
The EU will stand steadfast by the ROK to work toward peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. We will continue cooperating to convince the DPRK to cease missile launches and other actions that raise military tensions, resume dialogue and abandon its weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles and related programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner as required under multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. To this end, the EU supports the objectives of the ROK's Audacious Initiative aimed at achieving a denuclearized, peaceful and prosperous Korean peninsula.
South Korea's transformation into the 10th-largest economy in the world and the sixth-largest trading country globally is remarkable. The ROK-EU Free Trade Agreement is underpinned by a remarkable rise in bilateral trade and this represents the bedrock of the EU-ROK robust economic relationship. The EU is now Korea's third-largest trade partner and Korea represents the EU's ninth-largest trade partner. The EU remains South Korea's biggest foreign direct investor, ahead of Japan and the U.S.
As leading trading nations, the EU and the ROK are strong supporters of the free and fair trade order, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core. We support strengthening and reforming the WTO as a central pillar of the rules-based trading system. The EU wishes to strengthen economic cooperation with the ROK, inter alia on economic security, on developing early warning systems to detect and address potential supply chain disruptions, as well as on market access for agri-food products.
The recently signed ROK-EU Digital Partnership is very promising as it will foster collaboration on semiconductors, the next generation of mobile networks, quantum and High Performance Computing (HPC), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and online and digital platform regulations. The ROK-EU Digital Trade Principles pave the way for the negotiation of binding commitments on digital trade, and further cooperation on personal data protection. The EU is also looking forward to the opening of negotiations on the ROK's association with Horizon Europe, the EU's framework research program.
On climate, we are continuously enhancing cooperation as part of our ambitious commitment to the transition for a sustainable and climate-neutral community, an important signal to the international community.
The EU and Korea have reinforced their respective foreign policies as well as security and defense capabilities to adjust to new extraordinary circumstances. We, therefore, need to strengthen our cooperation on security and defense, including maritime security, cybersecurity, foreign information manipulation and interference as well as counter-terrorism.
In this exceptional anniversary year and in such a rich context of bilateral cooperation and like-mindedness, we are setting the course for the future path of our ever-growing strategic partnership. This is exactly what President Yoon, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will do when they meet for the upcoming EU-ROK Summit in Seoul.
Maria Castillo Fernandez is ambassador of the European Union to Korea.
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