The EU marks Europe Day in Vietnam

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It was 73 years ago, and five years after the end of World War II, that on 9th May 1950 Schuman called for unification of Europe to make war on the continent impossible and spread peace and prosperity globally.

Around the world, people want what we have in the EU: individual rights and freedoms, democratic governance, rule of law, tolerance of diversity and a decent standard of living for all citizens. 

However, recent events, such as the ongoing war of aggression by Russia in Ukraine and conflicts in other parts of the world, show that we cannot take these values for granted. In today’s Europe, we see that democracy and freedom are a constant work in progress; we share a responsibility to safeguard and nurture them. The EU continues to stand with Ukraine and is committed to maintaining its responsibility to protect the fundamental values and interests that we share with Ukrainians and other peoples around the world.

EVFTA

This year also marks the third year since the entry into force of the EU-Vietnam free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and we are now in its implementation phase. The agreement offers a range of new and reinforced opportunities to producers, traders, service providers and investors of both parties. Bilateral trade between the EU and Vietnam continues to increase; trade in goods has seen 30% growth between 2021 and 2022.

There have been a range of legislative and regulatory measures in Vietnam over the past few years, many of which have a link to the EVFTA. We appreciate the clear focus and determination on the side of the Vietnamese government to advance the full implementation of the EVFTA. This effort is indeed helping and supporting the further modernisation of Vietnam’s society and economy. More transparency in public procurement and a robust intellectual property court system still need further attention. Regulatory changes to improve the business environment help both the Vietnamese and European economic operators alike.

The EVFTA already fully covers the market-access conditions of Vietnam for EU investors. It will be complemented by the protection provided by the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement. In order to attract even more high-quality EU investment will require further efforts in improving the social and environmental conditions to do business in Vietnam. Carbon-neutrality of energy supply is a pre-condition.

Promoting Sustainable Development is cross-cutting and essential for European trade policy. Progress in this area has been considerable, but more needs to be done to provide the Vietnamese workforce with better participation in the effort to improve their working conditions. The right to representation promotes competitiveness. The success of the EU economy is based on this balanced representation, and the most successful and innovative European SMEs have overcome the artificial distinction of owners  and workers. The inclusion of workers’ representatives in the discussion with local company management has proven to be as important for developing innovative enterprises as is the robust protection of the company’s intellectual property.

Development Cooperation

The cooperation portfolio of the EU and its Member States to support Vietnam in implementing its development objectives remains substantial. The EU alone currently has an ongoing project portfolio of more than EUR 200 million and under the EU’s multi-annual financial framework for 2021-2027 envisages to commit an additional EUR 50-60 million per year. Since 2021, the priority areas of our ongoing cooperation are sustainable green growth, decent work and responsible business, as well as good governance, rule of law and human rights.

In all our cooperation work, the EU is working closely with national authorities, including a number of strategic Ministries and other state partners at central, provincial, district and commune level, contributing to Vietnam’s sustainable green growth and towards maintaining and strengthening the livelihoods of the people of Vietnam, including socio-economic as well as civil and political rights. The EU also highly values the role of civil society and non-state actors in development and engages closely with a variety of local and national partners. We also very much value the role of the United Nations and its programmes and agencies in Vietnam.

A flagship in the EU’s current cooperation portfolio is the provision of budget support to the amount of EUR 142 million to strengthen Vietnam’s energy transition process. The EU also very actively supports the Government in preparing for new large-scale investment projects, in particular in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

EU assistance to Vietnam is part of the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy, which stands for sustainable and trusted connections that work for people and the planet. It helps to tackle the most pressing global challenges, including climate change, improving health systems, boosting competitiveness and security of global supply chains. It also covers strong investment in connectivity, such as digital transformation and people-to-people connectivity. It is implemented, to the extent possible, under a Team Europe approach, meaning jointly with EU Member States.

JETP

In December 2022, the International Partners Group (IPG), co-led by the EU and the UK, alongside the G7, Denmark and Norway, signed the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with Vietnam. The JETP is part of our response to Vietnam’s ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2050. I take this opportunity to commend the Vietnamese leadership for its laudable and responsible commitment.

Climate action is at the centre of EU policy, both at home and abroad. Our joint offer of support of USD 15.5 billion for the country’s power sector decarbonisation will unlock many green opportunities for citizens, businesses, and the Government. It is of utmost importance that all countries around the world cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 50% by the end of this decade, avoid further warming the planet and putting all our livelihoods at risk. In doing so, this will ensure sustainable development and a prosperous society in the future. Day-to-day, we are working with the IPG and Vietnam to implement the JETP and minimise emissions from the growing power sector. I look forward for the swift establishment of the JETP Secretariat in the coming weeks. The Secretariat, made up of Government and IPG technical experts, will prepare the Resource Mobilisation Plan (RMP) with key asks for policy reform to unlock finance for the strategic projects necessary for the phasing-out of coal and increased renewables.

We need to focus on addressing bottlenecks to investments such as improving regulatory frameworks, address infrastructure issues such as smart transmission grids, power storage and develop solar and offshore wind power. In this context, the IPG and all relevant Government Ministries should continue to work hand in hand and in full coordination in order to show to the world in COP 28 an ambitious, robust and realistic RMP.

Civil society and Human rights

The EU is profoundly attached to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We therefore give great importance the role of civil society and non-state actors in sustainable development and in holding governments accountable. The EU works with national and international non-state actors, working for socio-economic development, advocating for civil and political rights, for environmental rights, workers’ rights and children’s rights. Their contribution to society and sustainability is invaluable and should further be encouraged, not stymied. We wish to underline Vietnam’s progress on women, children and LGBTQ+ rights, and hope for further advances on human rights, especially during Vietnam’s tenure on the UN Human Rights Council.

Security and defence cooperation

In December 2022, we finished the year on a high note by implementing a new work strand of our bilateral cooperation - security and defence cooperation. In 2019, we had signed a Framework Participation Agreement with Vietnam. This allowed us to send, for the first time, two Vietnamese army officers to our peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic in December 2022. Through this, both the EU and Vietnam reaffirm our commitment to peace and stability not only in our regions but also in the whole world. 

As I will finish my time as EU Ambassador to Vietnam in August this year, I am confident that the future will provide many opportunities for the EU and Vietnam to work together on strengthening the multilateral rules based order and other areas of mutual interest.