Phl vows to resolve air safety ban imposed by EU

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has assured the European Union (EU) that it is committed to resolve the air safety ban it imposed on Philippine carriers and the country’s compliance with the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) involving Filipino seafarers.

“I would like to mention also at this point, the two issues in the EU that we are keen to resolve as their impact cuts across many of the concerns of your members and hundreds of thousands of Filipinos,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario during a luncheon hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines on Wednesday at the New World Hotel.

The EU has monitored and investigated the Philippines since 2006 and reported in 2009 that the country’s implementation of the STCW, an International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention adopted by the EU, was not enough.

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) warned that the country’s “failure to comply will trigger initiation of European Commission (EC) procedure for withdrawal of EU recognition of Philippine STCW training and certification system. This would mean that in the long run EU-registered ships could no longer hire Filipino seafarers.”

“Just allow me to assure you that no less than the President himself has personally taken these issues to heart, and we had discussed these matters with Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in Vientiane,” Del Rosario said.

The Secretary also referred to investment disputes between the Philippines and European countries that are “a few thorns in the bushes,” but he did not discuss further since they are now the subject of judicial processes.

“What I can say at this point is that we look forward to their peaceful resolution but their existence should not prevent us from pursuing vigorously the opportunities presented to us,” Del Rosario said.

However, he said that despite the disputes, investments from Europe have been growing steadily, marked by the inauguration of a $30 million maintenance hangar by Lufthansa Technik Philippines this year, the opening by Nestlé Philippines of a new P5-billion manufacturing facility in Batangas, the recent announcement by Holcim Cement of a $450-million expansion of its activities, and the opening of B/E Aerospace facility in Batangas.

Philippine companies, he said, such as PAL, Cebu Pacific and the MICTI, have not shied away from the challenges that Europe had to offer.

Del Rosario said the Philippines and the EU should be able to extract healthy bilateral cooperation from the challenges they are facing and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the robust economic growth that the Philippines has been experiencing since the start of the Aquino administration.

He cited the credit ratings upgrades accorded to the Philippines by prestigious institutions such as Moody’s and the World Economic Forum, which has elevated the Philippines 22 notches higher to No. 65.

“The 7.1 percent increase in the Philippines’ gross domestic product, labeled as ‘unexpected’ by Bloomberg, has pushed the Philippines’ standing as the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia,” he added.

According to Del Rosario, Philippine-Europe relations are at their peak this year. Philippines-EU trade for 2012 alone is forecast to surpass last year’s $10.40 billion. During the first three quarters of 2012, around 258,290 Europeans added to the tourists arrivals in the country.

The current economic crisis has caused European countries to look to emerging economies in Asia for new opportunities and resources.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) observed that many European countries including the United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Central and Eastern Europe have all adopted a new Asia strategy as a sustainable alternative in the midst of the economic challenges in Europe today.

President Aquino participated in the Asia-Europe Summit held in Laos last month and was encouraged by the support expressed by his European counterparts in issues espoused by the Philippines, including good governance, good economics, the peaceful settlement of disputes in the resolution of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) issue, migration and poverty alleviation.

In its mission to defend national sovereignty and the desire to settle maritime disputes in a peaceful manner and promote regional peace and stability, Del Rosario said the Philippines found support and inspiration in the words of European leaders, expressed during the ASEM Summit.

Europe is also the Philippines’ vital partner in combating transnational crime including human trafficking, drugs, transnational corruption, terrorism and similar scourges.

Various agreements were forged between the Philippines and its European partners on Mutual Legal Assistance, Transfer of Sentenced Persons, and Combating Transnational Crime.