The European Union (EU) has extended until 2027 the Philippines' inclusion in its list of countries enjoying the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday, August 1. The development came as the regional bloc also decided to resume soon negotiations on its free trade agreement (FTA) with the Philippines, which happened as von der Leyen made an historic trip to Manila—the first for an EU president—to "accelerate" its cooperation with the country. "We evaluated the situation, and we found that we can extend the status quo, that is good news... till 2027," she said in an interview with CNN Philippines. GSP+ is a scheme that grants select countries zero-tariffs on exports to the EU. The Philippines was initially at risk of renewing its GSP+ status, which was set to expire in December 2023, due to its lack of compliance with the GSP conventions set by the regional bloc. During the April visit of EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore to Manila, he said that while the Philippines already made progress in a number of areas covered by the conventions, more needs to be done to ensure effective implementation of all human rights conventions. He said that three convictions out of the 6,000 alleged cases of extra-judicial killings (EJKs) in the country, which were among the human rights concerns of the EU, are "not enough" to ensure that the Philippines would continue enjoying the benefits of the GSP+. But this time, von der Leyen said, the European Commission saw "progress" in terms of the country's response to human rights concerns. "Well, the government now is much operating with the United Nations and other international organizations. This is very important, and therefore we see progress," she said. "We have also with the European Union an ongoing, constant human rights dialogue where we raise all the specific questions that have to be raised, and here, too, we see progress and this made the difference with a new government," she added. In 2020, the EU Parliament first warned the Philippines of its possible withdrawal from the GSP+ amid cases of EJKs under the Duterte administration. It issued the warning again in 2022. Before President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. headed for Belgium for the ASEAN-EU Summit in December 2022, he said he would ask the regional bloc to retain the zero tariff being enjoyed by the Philippines.