Speech President Barroso following his meeting with President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines
European Commission
[Check Against Delivery]
President of the European Commission
Remarks by President Barroso following his meeting with President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines
Press point
Brussels, 15 September 2014
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,
First let me welcome President Aquino on his historical visit to Brussels. This visit marks the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of the Philippine Embassy in Belgium, which is also a reason to celebrate the long standing relations between the EU and the Philippines!
Today, we have discussed bilateral, regional and global issues.
I congratulated President Aquino for his efforts to bring peace, stability and development to the Philippines of which the successful accomplishment of the Mindanao Peace negotiations and signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro is a good example. In particular, I have congratulated President Aquino for the submission of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law to the Philippines Congress on the 10 th of this month.
This is a welcomed positive step forward in the overall effort in bringing lasting peace to people in Mindanao.
The EU is also supporting peace and development in Mindanao, in complement to the Government's efforts, through various development projects worth 106 million euros. And I assured the President of our continued support and assistance in this effort.
I also congratulated the President on the remarkable economic performance of the Philippines. At the same time economic reforms need to continue to increase the competitiveness and productivity of the country.
Europe can be a partner in this process too. Our Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which was signed in 2012, has allowed for an enhanced cooperation in several priority areas.
The EU and Philippines are also becoming more important to each other in terms of trade and investment rankings. Our trade exchanges in 2013 and 2014 were the largest in a decade. The EU is Philippines' third largest trading partner. And we are the largest foreign investor in the Philippines (resulting in the creation of 400.000 jobs).
We look forward to working together with the Philippines to strengthen our trade and investment relations, as these still hold, I believe, significant untapped potential.
The allocation for bilateral development cooperation in the Philippines will more than double for the new programming cycle which runs from 2014 to 2020.
And it is not just our official dialogue and economic exchanges that are increasing. Our cultural and people to people ties are as well. For example, Filipino migrants living and working in the EU - as well as Filipino seafarers manning European ships - sent €2.3 billion back to the Philippines in 2013, making the EU the second largest source of remittances to the Philippines and the largest employer of Filipino seafarers.
Furthermore, Europeans do believe it is "more fun in the Philippines!" (according to the country's slogan): with a historic record of almost 400.000 European visitors in 2013, an increase of 8%. With the European recovery and the lifting of the air ban for Philippines Airlines and Cebu Pacific, this growth is expected to strengthen in the coming years.
Today we also discussed the situation in the region, including maritime issues. Let me stress that the European Union encourages all parties to seek peaceful solutions, through dialogue and cooperation, in accordance with international law - in particular with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The European Union is proud to be a party of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, and we recall its fundamental principles, namely to settle differences by peaceful means, to renounce the threat or use of force and to effectively cooperate among partners.
Finally, we briefly discussed EU and Asia relations. The EU actively supports regional integration through the ASEAN and we are committed to forging a strong relationship with the whole region. The upcoming 10th ASEM Summit on 16-17 October in Milan will reconfirm the importance of Europe-Asia dialogue and cooperation.
President Aquino,
Thank you very much for your visit. I want you to consider Europe as your trusted partner and friend.
Thank you for your attention.