1. The Korean Government welcomes that the EU’s domestic procedures for the provisional 
application of the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement have been completed after being 
approved by the overwhelming majority of the European Parliament on February 17, 2011.

※ Upon the European Parliament’s consent to the Korea-EU FTA bill on February 17 
(For: 465, Against: 128, Abstain: 19), the European Parliament has completed all of its 
procedures required for the provisional application of the Korea-EU FTA.

2. The Korean Government expects the National Assembly to pass the Korea-EU FTA 
ratification bill in a timely manner so that the Agreement may be brought into effect on its 
prospective date of the provisional application of the Korea-EU FTA of July 1, 2011 as Korea 
and the EU mutually agreed.

※ Since the Korea-EU FTA ratification bill was delivered to the National Assembly on October 
25, 2010, the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee, the standing committee of the 
National Assembly responsible for the bill, has hosted three hearings during November and 
December of 2010. The bill is waiting to be referred to the committee. 

3. The Korea-EU FTA, which is expected to be provisionally applied on July 1 after the 
completion of legislative procedures of both Korea and the European Union, will not only 
provide Korea with an opportunity to access the world’s largest market which is also a key 
trading partner of Korea (the EU was ranked as the second largest trading partner of Korea 
in 2009), but also strengthen the “strategic partnership” between Korea and the EU which 
was launched at the Korea-EU Summit held on October 6, 2010.

* unofficial translation