Between 6 and 12 March a team of EU officials visited Manila for their 5th monitoring mission since Brussels first offered the Philippines a broad range of reduced tariffs in 2014 under the so-called Special Incentive Arrangement under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+).
The Philippines are one of only eight countries worldwide benefiting from this arrangement that requires the effective implementation of 27 international conventions covering human and labour rights, good governance, environment and climate.
The monitoring mission involved exchanges with civil society representatives, trade unions, business leaders and international organisations active in the Philippines. It culminated in a two days stocktaking meeting with representatives of the Government, led by the Department of Trade and Industry and including senior officials from the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Labour and Employment, Environment and Natural Resources, as well as from the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat, the Supreme Court, and other relevant government entities.
The topics the monitoring mission addressed related to the rule of law, human rights, labour relations, good governance and corruption, and to the protection of environment and climate.
The information gathered by the EU’s monitoring mission will feed into the next report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences, which will include the assessment of progress regarding compliance with the 27 international conventions by each GSP+ beneficiary.
https://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/development/generalised-scheme-of-preferences/
Register of Commission Documents - JOIN(2023)34
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