Press statement by President Charles Michel following the EU-Republic of Korea summit

 

Press material Monday 22 May 2023

● European Council   22/05/2023 15:28 | Statements and remarks | Press statement by President Charles Michel following the EU-Republic of Korea summit   Dear President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, During the Korean war, many European countries sent their soldiers to fight alongside South-Korean soldiers, including my own country. As a Belgian and European, I am strongly attached to the cause. Henri Moreau de Melen even resigned as Belgian minister of defence to come and fight in Korea. A total of 3,000 Belgian soldiers served during the Korean war and they played a role at the battle of Imjin river, which I crossed this morning on my way to the demilitarized zone. Mr President, it was a pleasure to meet you for our 10th EU-Republic of Korea Summit. This year is the sixtieth anniversary of the bilateral relationships between the Republic of Korea and the EU. Korea is one of the EU’s most valued partners in the region. We share common interests and common goals. We are united by the values of democracy, human rights, rule of law, and international law. And today we took another step to strengthen our strategic partnership, by focusing on important regional and global challenges and on our bilateral relations. Today we face threats to our global and regional security and rising global competition. This summit takes place as Russia continues its large-scale attacks on the people of Ukraine. These threats — and this war — show that deeper cooperation between the EU and the Republic of Korea is not a luxury, it is a vital necessity. I would like to thank you, dear President, and Korea, for condemning this illegal war against Ukraine, and for your support for the people of Ukraine as they bravely defend their homeland. Oceans may divide us, but European and Indo-Pacific security are closely connected. So we must stand united and firm, to protect the UN Charter and the international rules-based order. In this region, the DPRK’s nuclear program and reckless missile tests are a serious threat to international and regional security. The EU does not and will never accept nuclear armament by the back door. In the EU, we will continue to support your efforts to build peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. These challenges also highlight the importance of strong alliances to face today’s new challenges. Boosting cooperation with your closest neighbours reinforces stability in the region and helps to achieve our shared goals. We also stressed the importance of preserving stability and the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. We are working together to build a dynamic and rules-based Indo-Pacific region, to make progress in areas like climate, health, security and defence. And we are working together to build new security partnerships: just one example would be the Korean navy participating in the EU’s Operation Atalanta, the EU's counter-piracy military operation off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean. We are also forging closer ties in our bilateral relationship, underpinned by robust agreements, like our Free Trade Agreement. Today we have concrete deliverables, in green, health and digital topics. We are joining forces to modernise our economies by making them greener. This is good for our planet and good for our societies. Our new Green Partnership will boost cooperation in areas like renewables and green technology. Importantly, through this partnership, we will strengthen our cooperation on the safe operation of nuclear power, among other issues. We are also teaming up to improve global health — this includes making sure the world is ready for possible future health crises, notably through a new WHO Pandemic Agreement. Digital is and will be more and more the lifeblood of our future societies. That’s why we launched our Digital Partnership last year, to cooperate more in critical technologies, like semiconductors, quantum computing, and Artificial Intelligence, and to foster greater cooperation between trusted and technologically advanced partners. Korea is a global leader in semiconductor production and now we are committed to deepening our cooperation on digital trade rules. The EU and your country have a powerful trade relationship: the EU is the first investor in Korea and the third trading partner for Korea. It is proof that our Free Trade Agreement is a success story, for both our citizens and our businesses. Trade in goods has grown by 70% since 2011. And we want to maximise its untapped potential. Finally, a word on economic security. We have just returned from the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, where we discussed the interdependency of global supply chains. With President Yoon, we also focused on strengthening the resilience of our supply chains, especially in strategic industries, and for critical technology and raw materials. Dear President, thank you again for your warm welcome. You can count on the EU to promote peace and security and to protect our shared values and the international law. I look forward to seeing you in Europe soon. Thank you.