On March 30, 2020, the Council of Europe (EC) decided to adopt a free trade agreement between the Europe Union and Vietnam (EVFTA) after this Agreement was approved by the European Parliament on February 12, 2020. This decision is the final legal step under the EU's internal approval procedure for the EVFTA to take effect. At present, EVFTA will only need to be ratified by the National Assembly of Vietnam and both side will complete the notification procedure in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement (expected to be 30 days from the date of notification) to officially take effect with both the EU and Vietnam.
On the Vietnamese side, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been actively coordinating with the ministries and branches to implement the procedures for submitting EVFTA. On February 21, 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Trade submitted to the Government a set of documents on the ratification of the Agreement. Then, on the basis of receiving the opinions of the Government Members, on March 24, 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Trade submitted to the Prime Minister a draft dossier of the Government to submit to the President for consideration. consider and decide to submit to the National Assembly for ratification of the Agreement.
At the same time, to prepare for the implementation of the Agreement, at the request of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Government has directed the ministries and branches to take initiative in reviewing and immediately deploying, amending and supplementing documents, legal provisions to enforce the Agreement. On the side of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry has also proactively promulgated the Ministry's Plan on implementing activities to prepare for the ratification and implementation of the EVFTA from now until the Agreement comes into effect.