-Some provisions could be adjutsted to correspond better, Sabathil
Quoting 'good results encourage further progress', EU Amb. Gerhard Sabathil dismissed FTA's negative standpoint, adding such FTA's negative standpoint is a simple & short-sighted thinking.
In a press conference held to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the EU-Korea FTA on July 1st morning at the Press Center Seoul, Sabathil safeguarded: "The agreement brought benefits to consumers and industry in Europe and Korea alike. Access to high-quality consumer products and processing inputs in sectors such as machinery, cars and planes, healthcare, fashion, as well as food and beverages, means larger choice, lower prices and increasing competitiveness".
As EU envoy pointed out, actually the EU-Korea two way trade in services expanded by nearly one third, the merchandise trade by more than a quarter over the last few years and both keep a promise of further expansion in the coming years, according to EU Delegation in Seoul.
Moreover, the FTA resulted in an increase of the European investment in Korea, which account now for over 20% of the overall Foreign Direct Investment present in the country and supported development of Korean investment in Europe, according to Sabathil.
EU Delegation pinpointed that despite of the overall success, the free trade agreement concluded 5 years ago, has not yet delivered on all its promises. In that regard, the lessons drawn from 5 years implementation of the agreement suggest that some provisions could be adjutsted to correspond better to the ways that business operate today and the expectations of stakeholders on both sides.
On the other hand, England's Brexit was another hot topic discussed during the press conference, EU Amb. Sabathil revealed his personal opinion, saying he don't think other EU member countries will follow suit the example of England. He said Britain's Brexit was triggered by immigration problem, not by trade.
In conjunction with her country's Brexit problem, deputy head mission Ms. Sue Kinoshita from British Embassy who was on hand, said that England will concentrate on EU exit process rather than comeback to EU as speculations are rampant on it.