MEP Paet: EU-Singapore free trade agreement to open up new opportunities for Estonia

TALLINN - The free trade agreement between the European Union and Singapore, which entered into force last week, will strengthen trade between the Union and Singapore and also open up new opportunities to Estonian entrepreneurs, farmers, workers and consumers, MEP Urmas Paet said.

"The agreement will serve as a gateway for Europe to Southeast Asia as a whole," Paet, member of the committee on international trade of the European Parliament, said.

Paet noted that the EU-Singapore free trade agreement taking effect bears symbolic significance.

"During the times when open and rules-based global trade has come under pressure, our need for such positive developments is even greater," Paet said. "The European Union's trade network is the largest in the world at this point, boasting a total of 42 trade agreements with 73 states."

Singapore is the European Union's largest trade partner in Southeast Asia. European businesses exporting their products to the region number over 50,000 with small or medium-sized enterprises accounting for the largest share of it. 

"This agreement provides us with an opportunity to foster this positive business environment and it will also create better conditions for Estonian entrepreneurs," Paet said.