THE EU HAS COMPLETED THE EVFTA APPROVAL PROCESS WITH VIETNAM

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the evening of March 30, the Council of the European Union (EU) approved the decision of the European Parliament to ratify the Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam (EVFTA) in writing. The context of EU meetings has been postponed due to the impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in EU countries.

This is an important decision, marking the completion of the entire process of ratification of the EVFTA Agreement on the European Union's side.

Earlier, the Agreement was ratified by the European Parliament at the plenary session in Strasbourg, France, on 12.2.

EVFTA will be implemented after the National Assembly of Vietnam ratifies and after 30 days since the two sides complete the procedures to notify each other.

Speaking after the decision of the EU, Mr. Gordan Grlic Radman, Croatian Foreign Minister, chaired by the EU President, emphasized, EVFTA is the most ambitious free trade agreement that the EU has signed with a developing country. Many EU member countries, especially the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium, have issued statements welcoming the EU's decision, emphasizing the significance of the Agreement, especially in the context of economic growth and global trade and investment are strongly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The EU's early completion of the entire process of ratifying the EVFTA Agreement, even promoting written approval when it is impossible to conduct regular meetings, demonstrates that the EU attaches great importance to relations with Vietnam and appreciate the role of Vietnam in the region.

The decision also strongly affirms the message of the EU and its member states to continue to lead the way in promoting cooperation and economic integration, maintaining trade flows and supply chains, limiting protectionist trends to support economic growth in the context of complicated Covid-19 epidemic on a global scale.

These are recommendations made at the World Summit of the Leading Group of Developing and Emerging Economies (G20) on March 26, with the attendance of senior leaders of G20 member countries and a number of guest countries, including Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc - as the leader of ASEAN Chair 2020.

The EVFTA agreement was signed and ratified by Vietnam and the EU in the context of the two countries' development and development, after 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations (1990 - 2020), especially in the field of economics - commerce. The EU is now one of Vietnam's leading trading partners with a two-way turnover of US $ 56.45 billion in 2019, of which exports reach US $ 41.5 billion, imports from the EU reach US $ 14.9 billion.

EVFTA agreement, when implemented, will bring great benefits to the national economy. After being approved and put into operation by the National Assembly of Vietnam, it is expected that from the beginning of the 3rd quarter of 2020, EVFTA will surely create a big boost for Vietnam's exports to the EU's large market, especially commodities of agricultural, fishery and Vietnamese products have many competitive advantages, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is one of the important solutions that the Government is determined to promote in order to overcome difficulties when the economy is suffering from the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Publication date: 16:07 - 03/31/2020

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/