European Commission | 12 March 2026
Report of the 5th round of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Philippines
The 5th round of negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU
and the Philippines took place between 2 and 6 March 2026 in Brussels. The
respective negotiating teams were led by Director Dora Correia (Directorate
General for Trade and Economic Security of the European Commission) and
Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty (Department of Trade and Industry of the
Philippines).
Inter-sessional meetings took place between the 4th and 5th round and proved
valuable to advancing on the discussions. This 5th round focused on market
access discussions and advancing in the consolidation of the text. Discussions
were constructive and engaging. All negotiation groups were able to progress on
agreeing on text.
The topics that were covered during the 5th round of negotiations included Initial
Provisions, Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Technical Barriers to Trade, the Car
Annex, Trade in Services, Investment, Digital Trade, Government Procurement,
Intellectual Property and Geographical Indications, Competition and Subsidies,
State-Owned Enterprises, Energy and Raw Materials, Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures, Dispute Settlement, Institutional provisions, Final Provisions and
Exceptions. In addition, during this round, discussions took place on market
access for goods, services, investment and government procurement.
The negotiations were substantially concluded for the chapters on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures, Institutional provisions, Technical Barriers to Trade as
well as on the Car Annex and the Code of Conduct for Panellists and Mediators
in State-to-State Disputes adding to the chapters provisionally closed earlier
(MSMEs, Transparency, Anti-Fraud Clause, Sustainable Food Systems, Good
Regulatory Practices, Trade in Sustainable Development, Trade Remedies and
the Protocol on Mutual Administrative Assistance).
It was agreed that negotiation groups would hold inter-sessional virtual meetings
ahead of the 6th round to conduct follow-up work and continue discussions. In
addition, Chief Negotiators agreed to meet in person or virtually on a regular basis
to take stock of the progress made.
The 6th round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in the Philippines from
18 to 22 May 2026.
Link to EU text proposals: EU-Philippines agreement: Documents (europa.eu)
