The
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
(EU) and the
Republic of Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...
(South Korea) are important trade partners: Korea is the EU's ninth largest export market for goods, and the EU is Korea's third largest export destination.
The two have signed a free trade agreement which came into effect at end of 2011.
Furthermore, South Korea is the only country in the world with the three agreements covering economics, politics and security in effect as of 2020.
Agreements
The first EU–South Korea agreement was Agreement on Co-operation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters (signed on 13 May 1997).
[Bilateral relations Korea](_blank)
European Commission This agreement allows the sharing of competition policy between the two parties.
The second agreement, the Framework Agreement on Trade and Co-operation (enacted on 1 April 2001). The framework attempts to increase co-operation on several industries, including transport, energy, science and technology, industry, environment and culture.
Following extended negotiations,
the EU and Korea in 2010 signed a new framework agreement and a
free trade agreement
A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occ ...
(FTA) which was the EU's first FTA with an Asian country and removes virtually all tariffs and many non-tariff barriers. On the basis of this, the EU and Korea decided in October 2010 to upgrade their relationship to a Strategic Partnership. These agreements came into force in 2011.
[Republic of Korea](_blank)
European External Action Service
Meetings
EU-Korea summits have taken place in 2002 (Copenhagen), 2004 (Hanoi) and 2006 (Helsinki) on the sidelines of
ASEM
Asem (also spelled Aasem, Assem, Asim ar, عاصم ') is a male given name of Arabic origin, which means "savior, protector, guardian, defender." Asem is also a female given name of Kazakh origin, which means "beauty, beautiful, refined, gracefu ...
meetings. In 2009, the first stand alone bilateral meeting was held in Seoul. The
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
delegation for relations with Korea visits the country twice a year for discussions with their Korean counterparts. Meetings at foreign minister level take place at least once a year on the sidelines of
ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
regional form meetings, however meetings between the Korean foreign minister and the EU
High Representative
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held b ...
have occurred more frequently, for example at G20 meetings. Ad hoc meetings between officials occur nearly monthly.
[Political relations](_blank)
EU delegation to Korea
Trade
Trade in goods between the two parties was about €100 billion in 2017. The EU is the third largest importer of South Korean goods, while South Korea is the ninth largest importer of EU goods.
See also
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Foreign relations of South Korea
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Foreign relations of the European Union
*
North Korea–European Union relations
European Union–North Korea relations are the foreign relations between the European Union and the country of North Korea. Bilateral relations between North Korea and the EU date back to the 1990s.
In this article, DPRK is a shorthand name for t ...
References
External links
EU delegation to Korea
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Korea-European Union relations
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
Third-country relations of the European Union