The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) successfully concluded the meeting with the European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Chief Negotiator, Ms. Dora Correia, on 12 February 2025 at Dusit Thani Manila. Following the first engagement of the group with Ms. Correia last June 2024, this pivotal session provided crucial updates and identified key expectations and areas of consideration in the ongoing EU-PH FTA negotiations, fostering collaborative dialogue on enhancing economic ties.

The meeting covered relevant topics, including Rules of Origin, Customs, and Trade Facilitation presented by ECCP Tax and Financial Services Vice Chairperson and SGV Tax Principal Atty. Alden Labaguis and Customs and Logistics Committee Co-Chairperson and Royal Cargo Group CEO Michael Raeuber; Intellectual Property Rights by IPR Committee Chairperson Atty. Reena Mitra-Ventanilla; and cross-sector matters such as Government Procurement, Competition, and Legal & Institutional Issues discussed by FTA Committee Chairperson and TradeAdvisors CEO Atty. Anthony Abad.

The sector presentations shed light on industry-specific concerns, challenges, and opportunities. The following representatives shared their insights for each sector:

• Agriculture - ECCP Director and Alaska Milk Managing Director Tarang Gupta
• Automotive - Peter Rankl of Continental Regional ASEAN Automotive and Autohub Group Presidential Management Officer Yeale Frokjaer
• Aviation - Lufthansa Technik Philippines CFO Rubi Pioquinto
• Energy - ECCP RE&EE Committee Co-Chairperson and Upgrade Energy Philippines Inc. President Ruth Yu-Owen
• Financial Institutions/Trade in services - ING Bank Head of Corporate Sector Coverage and Financial Institutions Lenin Duenas
• Food and Beverage - ECCP Food and Beverages Committee Chairperson and Charmant Ingredients Corporation and Managing Director Helen Grace Baisa 
• Healthcare - Sanofi Public Affairs Manager Dr. Constante Caluya and Novo Nordisk VP & General Manager Wei Sun
• Infrastructure - Acciona Regional Director for Southeast Asia Ruben Camba

Fabien Gehl, Deputy Chief Negotiator; Mikkel Sejberg, Policy Officer for the Philippines/Negotiation Coordinator; and Philipp Dupuis, Therese Yosuico, and Monica De Guzman of the EU Delegation joined Ms. Correia. Other representatives from the European-Philippine business community and national chambers also took part in the high-level session.

We thank Ms. Dora Correia and all our esteemed presenters for their valuable insights, as well as our participants for their active engagement. This meeting reaffirms ECCP’s commitment to advancing EU-PH trade relations and fostering collaborative discussions on critical economic issues.

Interested in shaping the EU businesses' advocacies on the EU-Philippines FTA? Join our ECCP FTA Committee by emailing advocacy@eccp.com.

To view more photos, please visit this https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC2huo.