APPROVAL of a Philippines-European Union free trade agreement (FTA) will benefit Slovenia, its ambassador said on Monday.
“This will definitely help, we are very happy that the negotiations are going well and could be signed soon,” Republic of Slovenia Ambassador to the Philippines Smiljana Knez told reporters.
While Knez said bilateral trade between the Philippines and Slovenia is rather “small” at $30 million in 2025, she noted that her country appreciates that its exports consisting of pharmaceuticals, dairy products, sawn wood and semiconductors earned 18 million euros (P1 billion).
Meanwhile, agricultural products like coconut oil are the Philippines’ top exports to Slovenia.
“We are still learning how business functions here. As in many other places, of course, we are aware of corruption. This is something that is of concern, not just in the Philippines. Red tape is something [that can be improved],” Knez said.
In 2025, Slovenia opened its embassy in Manila, its first in the Asean region.
Last month, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said she sees the FTA with the EU — which could be concluded by June or July — bringing in $12 billion in additional export revenue.
The FTA’s fifth round of negotiations was held March 2-6 in Brussels.
The Philippines benefits from the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), a special trade incentive arrangement that allows the export of over 6,200 products to the EU market at zero duty.
In 2024, GSP+ enabled earnings of 2.2 billion euros ($2.59 billion) for Philippine exports from micro, small and medium enterprises.
The arrangement took effect in 2014 and will expire in 2027. It will be renewed upon approval of the PH-EU FTA.
From January to June, total trade in goods between PH and EU amounted to 8.3 billion euro, a 3-percent increase from the same period in 2024.
In terms of reforms or measures to improve and address the trade relations between the two countries, Knez said the Slovenian government is still learning.
