Brussels – In 2025, some journalists described the conclusion of EU free trade agreements with third countries with the term “turbo charge”, that is turbocharger. This was confirmed to the TASR Brussels correspondent by Slovak European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič, who contributed significantly to these agreements. This year Šefčovič has his schedule set to the same intense pace.
“Last year several people described those trade nereceivediations as ‘turbo charge’. That there was a dramatic acceleration of trade nereceivediations between the Union and other countries,” explained Maroš Šefčovič. Journalists found an appropriate technical reference in the fact that, just as in combustion engines turbochargers ensure an increase in overall performance, Šefčovič also contributed to the success of the trade nereceivediations.
The European Commissioner reminded TASR, after the conclusion of what is so far the largest trade agreement ever between the EU and India, that the year 2025 is associated with three major agreements – with four member countries of the Mercosur group, with Indonesia and, finally, last year’s nereceivediations also successfully resulted in an agreement with India.
“These three agreements basically support cover more than 50 percent of European exports,” he explained. He added that the Union is still waiting for the ratification of the trade agreement with Mexico. The ratification of the agreement, whose modernization both sides agreed on in January last year after ten years of nereceivediations, should be completed during 2026.
Šefčovič indicated that his program for this year also has every chance of becoming a “turbo charge”. “Nereceivediations with Asian countries are continuing. There is Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand. Furthermore, our Australian partners have also expressed interest in reopening and speeding up trade nereceivediations, and we are also creating good progress in nereceivediations with the United Arab Emirates,” he added.
According to him, the EC considers the nereceivediations with the United Arab Emirates to be key also becaapply, if they are successful, the other countries of this region grouped in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia – want to join them. The EU is the second largest trading partner of the GCC countries and in 2023 their mutual trade reached the level of 170 billion euros. A new and strengthened trade and investment partnership between both sides can multiply this turnover.
“This is the working agconcludea for the coming period, but also a summary of three important agreements for the period since I took up this new mandate,” summed up Šefčovič of his work at the head of EU trade policy, for which he has been responsible since 1 December 2024. (31 January)
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