Lee set for talks with Swedish premier on Korea-EU FTA

By Byun Duk-kun
STOCKHOLM, July 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Swedish
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt were set for a bilateral summit Monday and
announce the results of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between
South Korea and the European Union.

The Lee-Reinfeldt meeting comes after the South Korean president sought to win
Europe's support for the envisioned FTA during his earlier visits to Poland and
Italy.
Sweden assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union at the
beginning of the month.
The South Korean president earlier said he and the Swedish head of state were to
declare the end of Korea-EU negotiations after their summit here.
"Fortunately, although the negotiations for the Korea-EU FTA have been protracted
due to opposition from several countries, we have reached agreement," Lee said in
his biweekly national address, according to a text of the speech released by
Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. The address was to be aired in Seoul
earlier Monday (Korean time).
Lee's optimistic view comes as the EU's Article 133 Committee on Friday approved
a final draft of the envisioned FTA, effectively ending the negotiations between
Seoul and Brussels that began May 2007.
The Article 133 Committee, created under the EU Treaty's article of the same
number, is responsible for determining key trade policies of the European Union,
including regional and bilateral free trade deals.
The expected move by the South Korean and Swedish leaders comes amid what South
Korean officials earlier called "continued opposition" to the Korea-EU FTA by at
least three EU members -- Poland, Italy and Hungary.
Kim Jong-hoon, Seoul's trade minister, said Friday's decision by the EU trade
committee to accept the final draft of the proposed accord meant a "significant
progress."
Lee will head home later Monday, wrapping up his three-nation European tour that
began Tuesday.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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