President Moon to Hold Korea-EU Video Summit on 30th... First Bilateral Meeting This Year (Comprehensive)

Priority on Holding Virtual Summit Amid COVID-19 Crisis... Planned Exchange of Views on COVID-19 Response Cooperation and Korean Peninsula Situation

[Asia Economy reporters Ryu Jeong-min and Son Seon-hee] President Moon Jae-in will hold a video summit with the European Union (EU) leadership on the 30th. This summit will be the first bilateral summit of the year and plans to discuss issues such as the response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and Korean Peninsula matters.

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, stated in a briefing at the Chuncheon Press Center on the 18th, "President Moon Jae-in will hold a Korea-EU video summit on the afternoon of the 30th (Korean time) with Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, at the EU's proposal."

Spokesperson Kang explained, "Originally, South Korea intended to hold an in-person summit with the EU in Seoul during the first half of this year, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the EU proposed holding a video summit first."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, President Moon will hold the first summit with the EU's new leadership, which took office in December 2019. Spokesperson Kang said, "This summit is the first bilateral summit held this year, and it is expected to broadly discuss issues of mutual interest, including cooperation measures for COVID-19 response."

Spokesperson Kang added, "This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between South Korea and the EU. Both sides plan to review their cooperation achievements so far and explore various ways to elevate the Korea-EU relationship to a more mutually beneficial and future-oriented level during this summit."

South Korea is one of the EU's 10 strategic partners and is the first country to have all three core agreements with the EU (Framework Agreement, FTA, and Crisis Management Framework Agreement) fully implemented. The EU's 10 strategic partners are South Korea, the United States, Japan, China, Brazil, Russia, India, Canada, Mexico, and South Africa.

The Blue House is focusing on the fact that the EU shares core values with South Korea, such as democracy, the rule of law, and multilateralism, as a strategic partner. Since the new leadership took office, the EU has been leading global climate and environmental problem-solving through its ‘European Green Deal’ policy.

During this summit, President Moon plans to discuss cooperation with the EU in health and quarantine sectors, international solidarity for vaccine and treatment development, as well as ways to diversify cooperation into future sectors such as trade and investment promotion, digital economy, and renewable energy.

Spokesperson Kang said, "We also plan to exchange in-depth views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula with the EU, which has made constructive contributions to the peace process on the Korean Peninsula."

Spokesperson Kang expressed expectations, saying, "We expect the EU to become an important partner in the ‘Green New Deal’ policy, which our government is actively pursuing. Through this summit, the Korea-EU strategic partnership will deepen and expand, serving as an opportunity to strengthen strategic communication between the two sides in the post-COVID era."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.