Readout of the call between President von der Leyen and President Marcos of the Philippines

President von der Leyen spoke today with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of the Philippines, as the EU and the Philippines are about to conclude talks on a Free Trade Agreement. This comes just three years after President von der Leyen's visit to Manila in 2023, when the two leaders agreed to relaunch the negotiations.

President von der Leyen welcomed the positive outcome and thanked the negotiating teams for their hard work and commitment, led on the EU side by Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič.

The mutually beneficial agreement should bring tangible benefits, including new opportunities for businesses, more investment and more jobs.

It will also support shared priorities on sustainable development and the clean and digital transitions. Given the challenging geopolitical and geoeconomic context, the two leaders also underlined the importance of working with likeminded partners across the world to ensure open, fair and predictable trade.

President von der Leyen congratulated President Marcos on the Philippines' chairmanship of ASEAN. She reaffirmed the EU's commitment to concluding similar ambitious free trade agreements across the ASEAN region. She also noted that this deal is an important signal ahead of step next year's 50th anniversary of EU-ASEAN relations. The President looks forward to returning to the Philippines in 2027 to sign the FTA.

On regional security, the President expressed the EU's solidarity with the Philippines in the face of aggressive maritime claims and reaffirmed the EU's continued support.