2005

July  ROK-EU Foreign Ministers' Meeting on sidelines of ARF Meeting in Laos
July  Visit of European Parliament Delegation for the Korean Peninsula to Seoul
July  Visit of the Korean National Assembly, EU Committee to Brussels for the 8th inter-Parliamentary meeting
July  Fourth Joint Committee Meeting (Brussels)
April President Roh Moo-hyun visits Paris, London and Berlin

2004

October  ROK-EC Memorandum of Understanding on Competition Policy
September  ROK-EU Summit in Hanoi
July  Third Joint Committee Meeting in Seoul
April  Visit of Commissioner Monti to Seoul

2003

September  Visit of Commissioner Liikanen
July  Second Joint Committee Meeting in Brussels
May  Visit of Commissioner Busquin to Seoul
March  Launch of Substantive European Training Programme in Korea
February  Visit of High Representative Solana to Seoul

2002

November  Council Conclusions on Policy to DPRK in light of nuclear issue
September  ROK-EU Summit in Copenhagen
February  European Community Strategy Paper for the DPRK 2001-2004

2001

July  ROK-EU Foreign Ministers' Meeting on sidelines of ARF Meeting in Laos
July  Visit of European Parliament Delegation for the Korean Peninsula to Seoul
July  Visit of the Korean National Assembly, EU Committee to Brussels for the 8th inter-Parliamentary meeting
July  Fourth Joint Committee Meeting (Brussels)
April President Roh Moo-hyun visits Paris, London and Berlin

2000

November  Council Conclusions on the Korean Peninsula
October  The Third Asia-Europe Summit(ASEM) in Seoul
March  European Commission launches "Executive Training Programme Korea" pilot project

1990s and before

1999 July  EU Council of Ministers adopts Conclusions on Korean Peninsula
1998 December  The Third Asia-Europe Summit(ASEM) in Seoul
1998 April  Second Asia-Europe Meeting(ASEM) summit in London
1997 September  EU accession to KEDO
1996 March  First Asia-Europe Meeting(ASEM) summit in Bangkok
1995 October  EU first provides humanitarian assistance to the DPRK
1989 November  Establishment of the Delegation of the European Commission in Seoul
1986 July  First regular annual meeting between senior officials of the European Commission and the ROK
1983 March  First regular annual Ministerial meeting between the European Commission and the ROK
1963 July  Establishment of diplomatic relations between the European Community and the ROK; accreditation of the Korean ambassador to the EC in Brussels

Framework for Dialogue: In 1997 the two sides signed a Joint Political Declaration on their desire to intensify political consultation. The Declaration states that the objectives of political dialogue include underlining respect for human rights and democracy, enhancing consultations on international security matters and discussion of issues of particular interest in the European and Asia-Pacific region. The Declaration also set up a framework for dialogue that includes meetings between heads of government, and annual foreign ministers' meeting, briefings by senior officials and exchanges of delegations between the European Parliament and the Korean National Assembly.

Peace on the Korean Peninsula: Efforts to promote peace and security on the Korean peninsula mark one of the most significant areas of political cooperation between the ROK and the EU. Both the EU and the ROK are pursuing policies aimed at persuading North Korea to follow a path that would see it enter the global and regional economy in a way that would address fundamental security issues on the peninsula. The EU is highly interested in building a Northeast Asian regional community and stands ready to offer assistance in lessons learned from its own integration process.

Bilateral Trade Relations: The ROK and the EU are important trading partners. In 2003, the volume of bilateral trade between the EU and the ROK was 39 billion euro. The ROK is the EU's fourth largest trade partner while the EU is ROK's third largest exports destination. In 2003, the European Union was the largest foreign investor with around 3 billion euro investment into the ROK. At the same time the EU became the largest foreign investor to the ROK in terms of cumulative total since 1962. The EU investment in the ROK stands at US$ 29 billion.

The main EU exports to the ROK are power generating machinery, chemicals and transport material. The main imports from the ROK to the EU are transport material, textile, clothing and power generating machinery.

Bilateral Agreements: The Framework Agreement on Trade and Cooperation is the main agreement between the ROK and the EU. It entered into force on April 1, 2001. The Framework Agreement provides consultations on trade measures in order to reach mutually satisfactory solutions. The Framework Agreement foresees annual Joint Committee meetings chaired at Deputy Minister level and regular Summit meetings of the state leaders. With the expert discussions, the Framework Agreement provides a valuable groundwork for exchange on all levels.

The ROK and the EU in the Ongoing WTO/DDA Negotiations: Both the ROK and the EU have benefited form the multilateral trading system and are in positions to gain more benefits from further liberalization of international trade. Like the EU, the ROK has clear offensive interests in the Doha Development Agenda(DDA) in terms of enhancing market access for industrial products and anti-dumping rules. The ROK's position on DDA is dominated by our defensive interests on (1)agriculture, with rice being of particular concern, and (2)fisheries and forests.

The ROK-EU Free Trade Agreement(FTA): Bilateral and regional FTA initiatives are gaining momentum and have become a large part of Korea's trade policy. With the successful conclusion of the KORUS FTA, Korea will continue the FTA negotiations with other large economies including the EU, Korea's second largest trading partner. Statistics show that the trade volume between the ROK and the EU totaled US$79.4 billion in 2006. Moreover, the ROK's export volume is expected to rise 5% if a free trade agreement with the EU is adopted. Also, Korean automakers and electronics makers, along with textile exports will expand due to the FTA with the EU. For the EU side, carmakers, dairy producers and wine manufacturers will benefit from the FTA deal. The two sides held their first round of FTA negotiations in Seoul this May and shared positive prospects during the talks. The second round was held at the EU Headquarters in Brussels this July.