The Republic of Korea is not respecting “its obligations in terms of trade and sustainable development under its trade agreement with the EU,” the European Commission said in a statement.
While the political agreement signed at the end of December for a future treaty on investments between the European Union and China sparks controversy over Beijing’s commitment to respect for labor law, information concerning South Korea is coming. feed the debate.
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The Republic of Korea does not respect “The obligations incumbent on it in terms of trade and sustainable development under its trade agreement with the EU”, indicates the European Commission in a press release. Ratified in 2015, this trade agreement is touted as belonging to a new generation of treaties. This provides for environmental and social commitments and the means to enforce them. It is in application of the agreement that a “Group of independent experts” has been mandated. This concludes that Korea must “Adapt its labor laws and practices and speed up the process of ratifying four fundamental conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in order to comply with the agreement ”. “We will work closely with Korea to ensure that it effectively implements its workers’ rights commitments (freedom of association in particular)», comments Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for Trade, who prefers to see the glass half full.
Critics of the agreement with China doubt that China will be as cooperative as Korea in ratifying and implementing ILO conventions as it has committed to.
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