EU and Singapore launch Digital Partnership
Today, the EU and Singapore are strengthening their cooperation as strategic partners. Following the announcement of a new Digital Partnership between the EU and Singapore by President von der Leyen and Prime Minister Lee at the EU-ASEAN summit in December 2022, Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, and Singapore Minister of Industry and Trade, S Iswaran, signed a Digital Partnership that will strengthen cooperation between the EU and Singapore on digital technology areas. Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis and Minister Iswaran also signed Digital Trade Principles. A key deliverable of the Digital Partnership, the Principles seek to facilitate the free flow of goods and services in the digital economy, while upholding privacy.
The EU-Singapore Digital Partnership reflects the dynamic relation the EU has built with an open and outward-oriented economy and a vibrant logistics and financial hub in South-East Asia. Both sides have agreed to work together on critical areas such as semiconductors, trusted data flows and data innovation, digital trust, standards, digital trade facilitation, digital skills for workers, and the digital transformation of businesses and public services. This Partnership is in line with the 2030 Digital Compass, the European way for the Digital Decade and represents another key step in the implementation of the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Following the signature of the Partnership, an inaugural Digital Partnership Council was held, which set the priority areas of cooperation for the year ahead. It was co-chaired by Commissioner Breton and Singapore Minister Iswaran.
The EU-Singapore Digital Partnership is the third signed with key partners in Asia. The first digital partnership was concluded in May 2022 with Japan during the 28th EU-Japan Summit, and the second with the Republic of Korea in November 2022.
More information is available in this detailed press release.
"Today is an important step in strengthening our cooperation on crucial digital areas with Singapore. Together, we will promote our vision for an inclusive, sustainable and human-centric digital transformation, which will benefit our citizens and create opportunities for businesses."
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age - 01/02/2023
"Today we are taking our close trade ties with Singapore to the next level. Signing these Digital Trade Principles is a first deliverable of our new Digital Partnership and will facilitate reciprocal trade and e-commerce, a vital sector of our economies. These Principles will help to pave the way towards further engagement on digital trade, including at WTO level."
Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade - 01/02/2023
"When we join forces with our like-minded partners and act together, we can set the standards of tomorrow's digital world and defend our common interests. We will work on cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and semiconductors but also data flows and digital infrastructures, building on our dynamic relation."
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market - 01/02/2023
