The European Union and South Korea on Wednesday signed a digital trade agreement aimed at simplifying cross-border digital transactions and strengthening economic ties. The deal was reached at their first summit in three years.
The digital agreement, along with other cooperative measures on sharing classified security information and passenger data, reflects both parties’ efforts to build new alliances and reinforce existing partnerships.
This comes at a time of heightened global uncertainty, including U.S. tariffs, Chinese export restrictions, and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Building on a free-trade agreement that came into force in 2011, the new digital pact seeks to:
The agreement is expected to lower costs for businesses and boost trade in services. Currently, the EU is South Korea’s third-largest trading partner in goods, while South Korea ranks as the EU’s eighth-largest.
The deal highlights the EU’s ambition to set global standards for digital trade, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region. The EU has already signed digital agreements with Singapore, Japan, and digital components in trade deals with the UK, Chile, and New Zealand.
According to the World Trade Organization, digitally delivered services trade in 2025 was approximately five times higher than in 2005, with 10% growth over the past three years, outpacing goods and other services trade. The EU is the world’s largest services exporter, nearly half of which are digital.
The agreement will require approval from the European Parliament before coming into full effect.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called it “a disgrace” that Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries. Attacks are continui...
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It com...
France is preparing for a fresh wave of nationwide demonstrations this weekend as rising living costs, educatio...
The Saudi-led coalition said early Thursday that it intercepted and destroyed a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, vowing to carry out more attacks in the coming days.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It comes after a deadly Houthi strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed at least 13 people last week.
Ukraine is set to restart attacks on Russian oil refineries following a two-day pause, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, amid growing tensions with Washington over energy strikes and U.S. military support.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called it “a disgrace” that Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries. Attacks are continuing from Russia and Ukraine as media reports say Ukraine has almost run out of Patriot interceptor missiles.
Students, lecturers and university staff marched on Argentina’s Congress in Buenos Aires on Thursday to demand President Javier Milei’s government implement a university funding law which would boost staff salaries and increase financial support to institutions to cover operating costs
A 16-year-old shooter opened fire on Thursday at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon in the United States, killing four people, including three children, before being killed by an armed member of the community who had pursued the assailant into the school, police said.
France is preparing for a fresh wave of nationwide demonstrations this weekend as rising living costs, education concerns and growing political tensions converge into one of the most significant protest movements seen in the country in recent years.
British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has called for closer cooperation between the United Kingdom and the United States, arguing that the transatlantic partnership remains essential to addressing modern security challenges and maintaining stability across Europe.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment