On the back of the European Union-Korea free trade agreement that entered into full force last year, the two sides are deepening engagement as important parties in regional and global issues, the EU Ambassador to Korea said last week.

The bilateral accord has gradually come into effect since July 1, 2011, and fully entered into force on Dec. 13. It eliminates 99 percent of duties on both sides within five years and covers non-tariff barriers. More than 35 bilateral consultation channels run throughout the year to enhance cooperation in multiple areas.

As Strategic Partners since 2010, the EU and Korea have three key agreements: the FTA, the Framework Agreement and the agreement on Crisis Management Operation. The Framework Agreement addresses international issues, such as nuclear nonproliferation, human rights, terrorism, climate change, energy security and development assistance, as well as science and technology, innovation, environment and education.

Speaking in front of journalists on Tuesday, EU Ambassador to Korea Gerhard Sabathil stressed, “There is a certain gap in information and knowledge about each other.” He added that the delegation coordinates the functions of the 22 EU embassies in Korea over political dialogue, the FTA, cultural promotion and educational exchange through the Erasmus Plus program.

“In Europe, Korean conglomerates ― Samsung, Hyundai and Kia ― are very well known, but many Europeans don’t know these companies are Korean,” he said. “At the same time, Koreans know well about France, Germany and Italy, but not enough about new EU members such as Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and the Czech Republic.”

The delegation cooperates closely with all embassies to promote their culture, policies and products, Sabathil added, noting that Europe’s integration experience could be applied to help the two Koreas’ reunification.

Regarding North Korea’s nuclear threats, Sabathil underlined that the EU had engaged in a “critical dialogue” with Pyongyang for more than 15 years. The EU has asked China to take “bolder actions” on Pyongyang’s denuclearization and to stop sending refugees back to North Korea, where they face harsh punishment.

During his four-day trip to the North in June for the 14th EU-DPRK Political Dialogue, the diplomat said he addressed the “extreme lack” of human rights and humanitarian provisions, alongside denuclearization, exchanging separated family visits and peninsular reunification.

He said he strongly urged the Pyongyang leadership to separate politics from humanitarian issues, including that of the families separated by the Korean War.

“I have a lot of empathy and compassion regarding the situation here,” he said, mentioning his youth in West Germany during the Cold War. Sabathil, who has German and Hungarian nationalities, said he had experience of the situation across the Berlin Wall, and visited his grandmother who lived there.

“We had nuclear threats and humanitarian problems across the communist bloc, but the overall situation was much better than North Korea,” the envoy underscored. “We had family reunions immediately after the Berlin Wall was erected. The Easterners couldn’t go to the West, but the West Germans could go to the East.”

The U.K., Germany, Sweden, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and the Czech Republic have embassies in Pyongyang, which are under “very harsh” conditions: the European diplomats receive severe restrictions on movement, poor heating and frequent electricity cuts, according to media reports.

On climate adaptation, the ambassador claimed that green growth presented significant opportunities for new technologies, research and investment.

“Europe has been a world leader in climate policies, and the Paris climate agreement was a great success,” he said. “As Korea has a large industrial economy, it can contribute much more to reducing greenhouse gas through the Emissions Trading Scheme.”

As a major pillar of climate policy, the EU operates its greenhouse Emission Trading Scheme ― the world’s first and largest ― which taxes electricity producers for carbon dioxide emissions.

Using the “cap and trade” principle, a limit is set on the total amount of greenhouse gases that can be released by all participating power stations; then “allowances” for emissions are sold, allocated for free, or subsequently traded, which ensures cost-effective emissions reductions.

Noting that Korea is “far behind” the OECD average in its response to global warming, where it is ranked 54th out of 58 countries on the 2016 Climate Change Performance Index, Sabathil argued that increasing the share of renewable energies would cut down carbon footprint and dependence on oil and gas imports, while boosting economic growth.

Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)