The EU-Singapore partnership is built on shared values and a joint commitment to preserving the rules-based multilateral order. In 2018, the EU and Singapore concluded a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) that is currently being ratified by the parliaments of EU Member States. When it enters into force, the agreement will provide the basis for more effective bilateral engagement between the EU and Singapore by strengthening political dialogue and enhancing cooperation in a broad range of areas, including sustainable and green development, democracy and fundamental freedoms, justice, security, connectivity, people-to-people links, as well as education and cultural exchanges. It will enable both sides to step up scientific and technological cooperation in fields such as energy, the environment, the fight against climate change, protection of natural resources, smart cities and transport.

The EU’s commitment to the wider region is further underpinned by the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. This strategy recognises the growing importance of the region, with ASEAN at its centre. It also gives new impetus to reinforcing collaboration with our partners in the region, with the aim of contributing to the stability, security, prosperity and sustainable development in the Indo-Pacific.

Singapore is a key partner of the EU. It lies at the heart of this vast region and is a vital global hub for business, travel and transport.

Singapore is the EU’s largest trade and investment partner in ASEAN. The two sides are strong partners and supporters of a multilateral rules-based global trading system.

The EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) and the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement (EUSIPA), signed on 19 October 2018, are cornerstones of our trade and economic relationship. .

The EUSFTA, which entered into force on 21 November 2019, eliminates nearly all customs duties and removes barriers to trade in goods, services and investment. It includes ambitious provisions in the fields of government procurement, intellectual property (including Geographical Indications), customs, rules of origin, renewable energies, green growth and sustainable development. Since the entry into force of the EUSFTA, a number of meetings by the implementing bodies have taken place. The main highlights, joint reports and the full text of the agreement can be found here.

The EUSIPA, once ratified by all EU Member States, will further encourage EU companies to invest more in Singapore, and Singaporean companies to invest more in the EU.

On 1 February 2023, the EU and Singapore signed a Digital Partnership and adopted the Digital Trade Principles, as a first deliverable of the new partnership. More details here.

On 25 July 2024, the EU and Singapore announced the conclusion of negotiations of a Digital Trade Agreement (EUSDTA). More details here.

Annual EU-Singapore trade in goods reached €52.6 billion in 2023, placing Singapore as the EU’s 20th largest trading partner in the world. The EU’s merchandise trade surplus with Singapore is valued at €11.7 billion.

EU-Singapore trade in services reached a record €77.5 billion in 2022, with exports to Singapore amounting to €36.4 billion and imports from Singapore to €41.1 billion. Singapore ranks globally as the EU’s fifth largest trade in services partner.

With trade in goods and services combined, EU-Singapore total trade amounted to €130 billion in 2022.

With regard to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Singapore ranks among the EU’s main FDI destinations in Asia. At the end of 2022, EU FDI stocks in Singapore amounted to €293.3 billion. In the reverse direction, total FDI stocks held by Singapore in the EU reached €206.1 billion.

Read more:

EU-Singapore Trade & Investment Agreements

EU-Singapore Trade and Investment Booklet 2023

Connectivity

Singapore is an important trade, transport and financial services hub in Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. Over 10,000 EU companies use it for their business and commercial activities in the Asia-Pacific.

It was under Singapore’s stewardship in its role as the ASEAN coordinator for relations with the EU during 2018-2021 that the EU and ASEAN concluded the world’s first bloc-to-bloc Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (CATA), connecting our 37 countries. The agreement, signed on 17 October 2022 in Bali, is an important milestone to boost air connectivity.

Global Gateway is the EU strategy for supporting sustainable and trusted connections. Between 2021 and 2027, the EU, its Member States and their financial institutions will mobilise up to €300 billion of investments for sustainable and high-quality projects. The initiative is about smart, clean and secure investments in quality infrastructure and connecting goods, people and services around the world in a sustainable way, taking into account the needs of partner countries and ensuring lasting benefits for local communities. Global Gateway helps tackle pressing global challenges, from fighting climate change, to improving health systems, and boosting competitiveness and security of global supply chains.

In April 2024, the EU and Singapore launched exploratory talks on a possible association of Singapore to Horizon Europe, the world’s largest funding programme for research and innovation.

EURAXESS ASEAN is a network of researchers of all disciplines and at all career levels in ASEAN, that promotes researcher mobility and career development, and support for scientific collaboration between Europe and ASEAN. It is part of the EURAXESS network that unites thousands of researchers from 40 European countries, China, India, Japan, Latin America and Caribbean States, and North America into one global community.

Through its portal, EURAXESS provides free information on job opportunities, fellowships and funding options available to researchers who wish to conduct their activities in - or to collaborate with - Europe, notably to participate in Horizon Europe.

EURAXESS ASEAN on Facebook

Contact: [email protected]

In 2020, EU and Singapore signed an Administrative Arrangement on Cluster Cooperation to foster trade links and contribute to business partnerships, including regular exchanges and business matchmaking events, for clusters and their members.

The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), active worldwide, helps businesses innovate and grow on an international scale. It is the world’s largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions.

In 2021-2022, a series of activities took place in Singapore under the “More Than Food” campaign to promote the key merits of EU agri-food products, including authenticity, high quality, safety and sustainability. More information on the EU’s agri-food promotional campaigns, including co-funded programmes, can be found here.

As part of the EU Business Avenues in South-East Asia Programme that took place between 2016 and 2020, 20 business missions in seven key industry sectors were successfully organised to Singapore and other key ASEAN markets, to showcase EU innovative technologies and bolster partnerships.

The European Union regards human rights as universal and indivisible. It actively promotes and defends them both within its borders and when engaging with third countries. The EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024 sets out the European Union’s ambitions and priorities in this field in its cooperation globally. Sustainable peace, development and prosperity cannot exist without respect for human rights. The EU itself was founded on these values, which are embedded in the EU founding treaties, reinforced by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights adopted in 2000.

The European Union Delegation to Singapore marks Human Rights Day on 10 December with an annual human rights seminar.

The European Film Festival, popularly known as EUFF, is the Delegation’s flagship cultural event in Singapore. Celebrating creativity, diversity and inclusivity, EUFF is an annual event that showcases a curated selection of European films. Started in 1991, this is among the longest running foreign film festivals in the country. Through the compelling narrative of cinema, the festival promotes dialogue, encourages conversations and exchanges, while espousing core EU values of respect for human dignity and inclusivity. Showcasing the best of cutting-edge, contemporary cinema, EUFF is a celebration of the rich cultural tapestry of Europe. The films presented in this festival may belong to a specific country, but they are all representative of Europe’s shared cultural heritage. EUFF is a window into the intriguing world of European cinema and also offers a platform to young and emerging Singapore film-makers, whose short films are presented alongside the main festival showcase.  

SEA AiR: A pioneering arts project for our times, SEA AiR (Studio Residencies for Southeast Asian Artists in the EU) celebrates EU-ASEAN ties and embodies the rich spirit of dialogue and exchange that are hallmarks of the relationship between our two regions. Launched in collaboration with the Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Centre for Contemporary Art, SEA AiR forges and fosters peer-to-peer cultural and artistic connections between Europe and Southeast Asia. Singapore plays a key role as “engine” of the programme and the site where its creative outcomes have been shared with the public. During 2022 and 2023, six artists from the region benefitted from residencies at established arts institutions in six European countries (Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands). They presented their works, inspired by their experiences, at the Gillman Barracks arts cluster, as part of Singapore Art Week in 2023 and 2024. The innovative and cross-cultural mix of the project has garnered critical acclaim globally. For its contribution to the arts through SEA AiR, the EU Delegation was awarded Singapore’s prestigious arts honour, the Friends of the Arts Award in 2024 by the country’s National Arts Council.

Study in Europe is an annual fair that connects undergraduate and post-graduate students in Singapore with European universities, providing information about higher education institutions, their application processes, student life, and details of various bond-free scholarships, while highlighting the many universities where courses are conducted in English. After moving to a digital format in the pandemic years, the fair is now presented in a hybrid format. Complementing this higher education initiative is “Conversations with the EU”, which sees ambassadors and senior diplomats from the EU and its Member States visiting secondary schools across Singapore. The 2024 edition focused on themes of digital transformation and sustainability.