On the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement on Digital Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Korea

(13083/2025 – C100143/2026 – 2025/0273(NLE))

(Consent)

The European Parliament,

–having regard to the draft Council decision (13083/2025),

–having regard to the draft Agreement on Digital Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Korea (13085/2025),

–having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Articles 207(4), first subparagraph, and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C10-0143/2026),

–having regard to its non-legislative resolution of ... on the draft decision,

–having regard to Rule 107(1) and (4), and Rule 117(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

–having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on International Trade (A100000/2026),

1.Gives its consent to the conclusion of the agreement;

2.Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Republic of Korea.

The European Union and the Republic of Korea share a deep strategic partnership built through the EU-RoK Framework Agreement (2010), the EU-RoK Free Trade Agreement (2010), a Digital Partnership (2022), a Green Partnership (2023), a Security and Defence Partnership (2024), Korea’s association to Pillar II of Horizon Europe (2025) and a Competitiveness Partnership (2026). All of these agreements could be achieved as the EU and RoK share common values, including the defence of fundamental rights and democratic institutions, such as the rule of law, alongside an unshakeable commitment to an open, rules-based multilateral trading system.

Since the entry into provisional application of the EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2011, and its full entry into force in 2015, bilateral trade relations have deepened significantly. In 2025, South Korea was the EU’s 8th largest trading partner worldwide and its 3rd largest in Asia, while the EU ranked as Korea’s 3rd largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in goods has more than doubled since the FTA entered into force, trade in services reached EUR 32.9 billion in 2024, and the EU remains the largest foreign direct investor in South Korea. As digitally deliverable services now represent roughly 25% of all global trade and continue to expand at a faster pace than traditional commerce, it became imperative to complement the existing FTA framework with modern, binding rules tailored to the digital transformation. Against this backdrop, negotiations for a standalone digital trade agreement were authorized in June 2023, launched in October 2023, concluded in March 2025, and signed on 16 June 2026.

The EU-Republic of Korea Digital Trade Agreement (EUKDTA) represents a landmark milestone in the EU’s strategy to establish modern digital trade rules with key international partners. It builds directly upon the EU-Korea Digital Partnership and the EU-Korea Digital Trade Principles signed in November 2022. The agreement aligns with the Union's broader ambition to shape high-standard global digital trade disciplines, as demonstrated in the digital trade chapters of recently concluded FTAs with Australia, India and Indonesia, as well as the cross-border data flows agreement with Japan and the standalone digital trade agreement with Singapore. By establishing a dedicated, self-standing framework with South Korea, the EU deepens bilateral economic integration with one of Asia's most advanced technological powerhouses.

The EUKDTA aims to provide binding rules that enhance online consumer trust, foster legal certainty and predictability for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and eliminate unjustified barriers to digital trade. The agreement establishes a forward-looking environment that facilitates seamless electronic transactions while embedding high standards of consumer safety, administrative simplification and regulatory cooperation and.

Key disciplines negotiated under the agreement include provisions enabling cross-border data flows with trust, a permanent ban on customs duties on electronic transmissions, and the recognition of the legal validity of electronic contracts, electronic authentication, and interoperable electronic signatures. Furthermore, the agreement facilitates digital trade and reduces administrative burdens through paperless trading, implementing a single window system for trade, frameworks for open government data, and cross-border interoperability of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) standards.

The agreement will safeguard the EU's legal framework on privacy and personal data protection, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ensuring that fundamental rights remain non-negotiable and high standards of consumer protection. On that regard, Korea's advancement on fundamental ILO Conventions is welcomed.

From a geopolitical and strategic perspective, the EUKDTA carries immense value for the European Union's external action in the Indo-Pacific region, fully aligning with the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the European Economic Security Strategy. In an increasingly volatile global and geopolitical landscape marked by increasing international tensions, threatening multilateralism, to a technological race within a deep digital transformation affecting value chains from critical raw materials to trade routes, this agreement underscores the Union’s commitment to an open, fair, transparent, and rules-based digital economy. By setting ambitious, human-centric benchmarks with a like-minded partner, the EUKDTA reasserts European leadership in defining the global standards of the digital age.

For all these reasons, I recommend that the INTA committee gives its consent to the conclusion of the Digital Trade Agreement with the Republic of Korea.

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that she included in her report input on matters pertaining to the subject of the file that she received, in the preparation of the draft report, from the following interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from the following representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies:

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that she has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament's Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.