Lee, Sarkozy agree to conclude Korea-EU FTA by year's end

By Yoo Cheong-mo
BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and French
President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday agreed to cooperate on concluding ongoing
free trade agreement negotiations between South Korea and the European Union by
the end of this year, Lee's spokesman said.
Lee and Sarkozy, meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)
summit under way in Beijing, also agreed to cooperate closely to produce
substantive agreements to fight the global financial crisis at the Group of 20
summit slated for mid-November in Washington D.C., according to Korean
presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.
Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European
Union, is reportedly pushing to use the ASEM event to press Asian nations for
support in a dramatic restructuring of the global financial system.
Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, was also on hand at
the Lee-Sarkozy meeting to call for a swift conclusion of Korea-EU FTA
negotiations, said the spokesman.
"Lee, Sarkozy and Barroso shared the view that both South Korea and the EU should
further accelerate working negotiations on a bilateral FTA to conclude the deal
by the end of this year," said spokesman Lee in a media briefing.
"Noting he and other leaders of the 27 EU member states are to meet on Nov. 7 to
fine-tune European positions ahead of the Nov. 15 Group of 20 financial summit,
Sarkozy said results of the EU summit talks will be immediately delivered to
South Korea and other Asian countries through special envoys and diplomatic
channels," said the spokesman.
In response, President Lee stressed that European and Asian nations have to hold
sufficient prior consultations and information sharing with the U.S. in order to
produce substantive and critical agreements at the Group of 20 summit.
Since concluding FTA negotiations with the United States last year, South Korea
has held seven rounds of negotiations with the EU in a bid to gain greater
footing in the 27-nation economic bloc, South Korea's second-largest trading
partner after China.
Bilateral trade came to US$89.8 billion in 2007, with some unofficial studies
suggesting an FTA would boost that figure by as much as 40 percent in the long
run. The EU is also the largest foreign investor in South Korea, with outstanding
investment reaching $44.8 billion at the end of 2007.
Leaders of 43 ASEM member nations and heads of the European Commission and the
ASEAN Secretariat were to conclude their two days of summit talks Saturday
afternoon with a joint declaration calling for greater worldwide cooperation and
policy coordination in overcoming the financial crisis.
ASEM nations account for roughly 60 percent of the world's gross domestic product.
On Friday, Lee proposed overhauling the roles and functions of the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank during his keynote speech at the opening session
of the ASEM summit. He also asserted that the increased stature of emerging Asian
economies should be reflected in the restructuring of the international financial
organizations.
ycm@yna.co.kr
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