17 September 2014 - On the first day of his working visit to Belgium, President Benigno S. Aquino III met with his counterpart from the European Commission, President Jose Manuel Barroso at the Commission Headquarters in Brussels on September 15.
President Aquino expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet President Barroso especially since the Philippines and the EU are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their bilateral relations this year.
During the meeting, the two leaders discussed a number of issues which are crucial to both countries' interests. They talked about the Philippines' compliance with the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention; efforts to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUUF); and the Philippine application to the EU's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)+ Scheme.
President Barroso informed President Aquino that the EU more than doubled development cooperation funding for the Philippines for the next cycle, 2014-2020. He said that EU has allocated €325 million for this period, the focus of which would be strengthening the Philippines' rule of law through legal and judicial reform and the pursuit of inclusive growth through access to sustainable energy development and job creation in the Mindanao region.
The two leaders encouraged enhanced cooperation particularly in the many areas covered by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) signed by the Philippines and the EU in Phnom Penh in 2012.
The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues. President Aquino sought EU's continued support for a rule-based and peaceful settlement of disputes in the South China Sea in particular the Philippine arbitral proceedings and the expeditious conclusion of a legally binding Code of Conduct. END