IN an attempt to reset strained relations between the European Union (EU) and the Philippines during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, the European Council has extended its hand to newly installed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, inviting him to visit Brussels and attend the Asean-EU Commemorative Summit in December.
The European Council is the political and policy direction-making body of the EU, composed of heads of governments or states, the European Council president and the European Commission president.
European Council President Charles Michel sent his regrets for missing Marcos’s inaugural but wrote in a letter, “I would, however, like to extend an invitation to you to come to Brussels at a mutually convenient time. We have much to discuss, from our bilateral relations, EU-Asean ties, and wider foreign policy issues, to our support for the rules-based international order.”
EU Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Véron attended the inauguration of President Marcos last June 30, representing Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU. He handed the letter of President Michel and reiterated the invitation during their meeting after the inaugural.
It is not known yet if Marcos Jr. has accepted the invitation.
This is the second invitation of another superpower for Marcos Jr. to visit their capital. US President Joe Biden had also extended the invitation to the 64-year-old Marcos Jr. to visit Washington, D.C., Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez said.
Véron stressed the longstanding “common interest and values” shared by the EU and the Philippines. He hopes that the EU-PH Partnership and Cooperation Agreement will be “effective[ly] implemented.”
The implementation of the agreement, signed in 2018, has stalled over disputes between Brussels and Manila on alleged human rights violations the EU has raised in relation to Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. Duterte, in turn, had scoffed at the EU repeatedly in his speeches and even threatened to expel the European diplomats for interfering into the domestic affairs of the country.
The European Council President also expressed hope that President Marcos Jr. would participate in the upcoming Asean-EU Commemorative Summit in Brussels in December this year.
This year marks the 45 years of partnership between the EU and Asean, two years after both regional blocs have elevated their relationship into a “strategic partnership.” In 2021, the EU also recognized the centrality of Asean in the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The EU has 27 members: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Aside from the Philippines, the 9 members of Asean are: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.