Europe and the Philippines share a long history of friendship and cooperation, with broad and expanding bilateral relationships in many key areas. This has resulted in the creation of jobs, development of expertise and technology transfer, generation of tax revenues, introduction of cutting-edge and new technology, as well as provision of many new goods and services to the benefit of consumers.

European companies are, by and large, happy to be in the Philippines and to be part of the Philippines's success. Despite impressive statistics, however, we strongly believe that the current trade and investment relations are significantly below their real potential. The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) considers itself a direct stakeholder in the Philippines's past, present and future. As such we are hopeful that the Philippines's strategy toward regional integration and sustainable development will be successful, as reiterated last week during the extensive discussions at the World Economic Forum debates.

Recognizing the importance of an open­trade regime for the shared benefits of businesses and consumers, we strongly support all efforts pursuing further trade and investment relations, especially active negotiations of an European Union­Philippines Free Trade Agreement.

To strengthen European­Philippine economic relations toward a more competitive Philippines, ECCP wishes to highlight the importance of ease of doing business and the opportunities to compete in the context of free and fair competition on a level playing field. Our priorities are placed on enhancing transparency, improving efficiency, reforming certain subsectors and enabling an economic and regulatory environment that is conducive to the expansion of the trade and investment in the Philippines. To strengthen the Philippines's competitiveness, and its potential gateway to a vibrant Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines is encouraged to strive toward "raising the standards" of its policy and regulatory framework in view of the intense competition and challenges of global dynamism.

Challenges exist in regard to the general perception of the policy and decision-making process, as well as the application of rules and regulations in the Philippines. Transparency, predictability and accepting the sanctity of contracts are regarded as the key foundations for a stable business environment in a modern economy. Calls have been made for enhanced predictability and avoidance of mid­stream policy changes, both in the policy/regulatory framework and the implementation/enforcement aspects in such key areas as customs, smuggling and "grey" imports, removal and streamlining of redundant certification and testing procedures.

It is critically important to put in place an enabling economic and regulatory environment that fosters free and fair competition for both short and long-term development. The establishment of an Office for Investor Facilitation and Protection would be a major step in the right direction; we are looking forward for legislation covering competition policy. In this context, it is also essential to open up foreign­ownership restrictions and make the Foreign Investment Negative List "less negative."

There are other key issues related to intellectual property rights; enforcement and prosecution remain challenges.

The European business community stands ready to constructively engage in relevant consultations to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome in the aforementioned trade/investment issues. We look forward to fostering even stronger economic relations for the benefit of both the Philippines and Europe.

Source: Business Mirror, 29 May 2014