Philippines Retreats From Threat to Expel E.U. Envoys
that For so long as the president has tolerated these interferences, he has decided that these must stop,
mission." After visiting the Philippines this month, the European liberal advocacy group Progressive Alliance issued a statement saying it was "extremely alarmed" over "gross human rights violations" and hinting
that the European Union might tighten its terms of trade with the Philippines over its spotty rights record.
The Philippines’ trade secretary, Ramon Lopez, who recently visited Europe, played down on Friday the impact of Mr. Duterte’s
statement, stressing instead a "lot of collaborative, positive efforts and programs" with the European Union.
" the 28-nation bloc said. that The statements made by the Progressive Alliance during its visit to the Philippines were made solely on behalf of the Progressive Alliance
and do not represent the position of the European Union,
13, 2017
MANILA — The Philippines backed away on Friday from President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat the day before to expel European ambassadors,
his spokesman said, after apparently misunderstanding the source of criticism of his deadly drug crackdown.
But after the Progressive Alliance issued its statement, the European Union sought to distance itself and said trade relations remained intact.
