The Council of the European Union adopted on Monday a decision to sign a free trade agreement and an investment protection deal between the European Union and Singapore, and the signing of both documents is scheduled for Friday, the Council said in a statement
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2018) The Council of the European Union adopted on Monday a decision to sign a free trade agreement and an investment protection deal between the European Union and Singapore, and the signing of both documents is scheduled for Friday, the Council said in a statement.
The European Union and Singapore are set to sign the agreements on the sidelines of the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting summit in Brussels on Friday.
"The EU-Singapore trade and investment agreements are the first bilateral trade and investment agreements concluded between the EU and a member state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)," the statement read.
The Council specified that Singapore was the EU's largest ASEAN partner, with the EU-Singapore trade amounting to 53.3 billion Euros ($61.75 billion) in 2017.
The trade agreement will lift custom duties on most of the EU goods exported to Singapore, except for fisheries and processed agricultural products. It will also remove the technical and non-tariff barriers, as Singapore will recognize EU standards and safety tests in electronic, pharmaceutical and car parts industries, among others.
"The EU-Singapore trade deal is one of the first 'new generation' bilateral agreements. On top of the classical removal of customs duties and non-tariff barriers for trade in goods and services, it contains important provisions on intellectual property protection, investment liberalisation, public procurement, competition and sustainable development," the Council stressed.
The investment protection agreement, which will replace the current EU-Singapore Bilateral Investment Treaties, is set to "improve the investment climate."
Negotiations on both agreements were launched in 2010. In 2014, talks were held, and in April 2018, the European Commission proposed the agreements.
