Seoul, Brussels set for legal review of bilateral FTA deal

SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the European Union will hold a meeting
in Brussels next week to review the legal aspects of their bilateral free trade
agreement (FTA), as both sides wrapped up relevant negotiations last week,
government officials in Seoul said Sunday.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak declared last Monday that 26 months of
negotiations for a South Korea-EU FTA were concluded following his summit talks
in Stockholm with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden, which holds the
six-month rotating EU presidency.
Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that officials of both sides
will hold the first meeting on legal reviews of the bilateral FTA agreement from
July 26-28 in Brussels.
The second meeting will be held in Seoul from Aug. 24-26, the ministry said.
Both sides are aiming for a provisional signing of the free trade deal in
September and its formal signing in February next year before putting the deal
into effect in the first half of next year after legislative approval.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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