Brussels (VNA) – A workshop was held at the headquarters of the European Parliament (EP)in Brussels, Belgium, on January 28 to clear up parliamentarians’ concernregarding the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-VietnamInvestment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

The event, which tookplace before the two deals are approved at a plenary session of the EPscheduled for mid-February, brought together the EU’s trade commissioner PhilHogan, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh,Chairman of the EP’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) Bernd Lange, INTA’s rapporteur to EVFTA GeertBourgeois, EU Ambassador to Vietnam Giorgio Aliberti, and nearly 120 delegateswho are European parliamentarians and representatives of EU organisations and businessassociations.

PhilHogan said the economies of Vietnam and EU members are reciprocal.Therefore, the agreements would help the EU enhance its access to theVietnamese market and pour more investment into the Southeast Asian nation.

Hedescribed the signing of the deals as a milestone in the EU-Vietnam relations,expressing his hope that they will sail through the EP during theupcoming plenary session.

Speaking at the workshop, Khanh said trade accounts for more than 200 percentof Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP), and has helped nearly 30 million Vietnamesepeople escape from poverty over the past two decades.

Vietnam has actively committed to implementing the multilateral trade policydespite the increasing protectionism, he said, elaborating opportunitiesgenerated by the EVFTA to European firms once the deal comes into force.

Thepact will benefit not only businesses but also consumers and labourers, hestressed.

TheVietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade submitted the dossier recommendingthe ratification of the two agreements to the National Assembly, the officialsaid.

Accordingto Geert Bourgeois, the ratification of the agreements will reflect that the EUis a trust-worthy partner in the negotiation and signing of FTAs.

Helauded the Vietnamese Government’s commitments regarding rights of employees,human rights and the environment, and called for the strong support of Europeanparliamentarians and the Vietnamese legislature so that the deals will beratified and become effective.

Some European parliamentarians expressed their concerns over such issues asrights of labourers, possible impacts of some Vietnamese agricultural productson EU member countries, the popularisation of benefits brought by the FTAamong Vietnamese small-and medium-sized enterprises.

Theirconcerns have been cleared up by representatives of EU organisations operating inVietnam, trade commissioner Phil Hogan and Deputy Minister Khanh./.