2nd LD) S. Korea, EU nearing end of negotiations on free trade deal

2nd LD) S. Korea, EU nearing end of negotiations on free trade deal
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BRUSSELS/ROME, July 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the European Union are
expected to officially announce an end to their protracted negotiations for a
free trade agreement (FTA) next week as a trade committee of the European
Commission Friday approved a final draft, South Korean officials said.
The officials said South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Swedish Prime
Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt could make the announcement following their bilateral
summit in Stockholm on Monday.
"There will be an announcement on (FTA) after discussions on the issue in a
summit to be held in Stockholm with Sweden, the incumbent president of the EU,"
Seoul's trade ministry said in a released statement.
The statement came shortly after the Article 133 Committee, which is responsible
for determining the EU's key trade policies, agreed to accept the results of
negotiations with South Korea on key sticking points, including duty drawbacks
and rules of origin.
The issues had been blocking the two sides from concluding the deal to lower
trade barriers, despite lengthy negotiations.
"There was wide support for what has been agreed between Korean and EU
negotiators," South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said of the EU committee
meeting held in Brussels.
"However, there were several countries that said they need some more time to
conclude their domestic processes" of finally endorsing the proposed deal, said
Kim, currently on a trip to Rome along with the South Korean president. They are
due in Stockholm on Saturday.
South Korean officials earlier said the president might try to declare an
official end to the FTA negotiations with the incumbent head of the EU during his
trip to Stockholm, but many have expressed caution given continued opposition
from several EU members.
"A few (European) countries have yet to express their full support for the FTA,
but there are continued efforts being made to persuade them and explain to them
the benefits of the FTA," Kim Eun-hye, a spokeswoman for South Korea's
presidential office, said Wednesday in Warsaw, where the South Korean president
began his three-nation trip.
"It appears it will take some more time before we can declare final agreement on
the Korea-EU FTA," the South Korean trade minister said Friday.
The European Commission made clear at the Brussels meeting that there will be no
more negotiations with South Korea, and what was reported Friday is the final
version.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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