The European Council Friday adopted an updated mandate concerning free trade agreements (FTA) negotiations with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.
The new mandate allows the European Commission to open negotiations on investment protection provisions with ASEAN member countries as part of the on-going FTA talks, reported Xinhua citing the Council in a statement after a meeting of EU trade ministers.
The EU is currently negotiating with four ASEAN countries, namely, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
The negotiations for an FTA with Singapore were concluded last December, though talks on investment protection are still ongoing, the statement added.
