Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2010)699 - Signing of the partnership agreement with Vietnam

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dossier COM(2010)699 - Signing of the partnership agreement with Vietnam.
source COM(2010)699 EN
date 29-11-2010
In May 2007, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate a Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation (PCA) with Vietnam, based on the November 2004 authorisation for negotiations with Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Negotiations with Vietnam were launched in Hanoi in November 2007. Both sides initialled the PCA in Brussels on 4 October 2010 following the endorsement of the outcome of the negotiations by Coreper.

The PCA with Vietnam is the third agreement finalised with an ASEAN country over the past year, following those with Indonesia and the Philippines. It will supersede the current legal framework of the 1995 Agreement between the European Community and Vietnam and the 1980 Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and member countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, which was extended to Vietnam in 1999.

This Agreement with Vietnam constitutes another stepping stone towards enhanced political and economic involvement of the EU in South-East Asia. It covers the EU’s standard political clauses on Human rights, ICC, WMD, SALW and Counter-terrorism and implements the EU policies on taxation as well as on migration. The PCA provides the basis for more effective engagement by the EU and its Member States with Vietnam in the development, trade, economic and justice domains. It encompasses areas such as health, environment, climate change, energy, education and culture, labour, employment and social affairs, science and technology, and transport. The Agreement further addresses legal cooperation, money laundering and terrorist financing, organised crime and corruption. It also covers areas of particular interest in the case of Vietnam such as cooperation on human rights and the rule of law as well as on remnants of war and natural disaster prevention.

Finally, the conclusion of the PCA will facilitate the launch and conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam in accordance with the EU’s objective of creating a coherent economic and political framework for relations between the EU and ASEAN countries.