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By Philip Blenkinsop and Rachel Armstrong
BRUSSELS/SINGAPORE Sept 20 (Reuters) - The European Unionand Singapore submitted for approval on Friday one of theworld's most comprehensive free trade agreements, which the EUsees as a stepping stone towards a wider deal with SoutheastAsia.
The European Union envisages it opening the door to a dealwith other members of the 10-nation Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN), which has set a goal of economicintegration by 2015.
"In the long term we want to have an agreement with all the600 million ASEAN consumers and with all the countries of ASEANand beyond, this is the first milestone," Rupert Schlegelmilch,chief EU negotiator for the pact, said in Singapore where bothsides initialed the roughly 1,000-page document.
Singapore has a population of just 5 million people butaccounts for about a third of all EU-ASEAN trade, more than 60percent of all investment between the two regions and is host tomore than 9,000 European companies.
Trade in goods between the two topped 52 billion euros in2012 and 28 billion euros in services in 2011. Mutual investmenthas reached 190 billion euros.
Singapore is one of the world's biggest oil refining centresand the agreement will likely boost the export of petroleumproducts from Singapore to the EU because it will reducetariffs, provided the refiners meet certain conditions.
The major refiners operating in Singapore are Royal DutchShell PLC and Exxon Mobil.
The agreement will also make it easier for European banksand insurers operating in Singapore to expand, potentiallybenefiting the retail businesses of Standard Chartered and HSBC as well as banks with wholesale operationssuch as Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays PLC.
It will ensure the right to sell directly or establishbranches in each other's markets and promises to provide greatertransparency over the award of licences.
"We made a very determined effort to go as far as we can inliberalising further what our banks and insurances companies cando, we were quite successful in that respect," saidSchlegelmilch.
The deal goes beyond many other free trade accords incommitting to open up public procurement, an area where the EUhas many leading suppliers, and agreeing on technical standardsin areas such as motor vehicles, electronics and greentechnologies.
A car made according to EU standards, for example, will beaccepted for sale in Singapore.
PARMA HAM AND PORK FLOSS
The European Union also gains better protection of"geographical indications", region-specific products such asParma ham or champagne. Singaporean delicacies such as porkfloss and fish balls will be allowed to enter the EU tariff-freewithin an annual quota.
EU tariffs on virtually all items from Singapore willdisappear over five years. Singapore has committed to itsexisting zero tariffs on EU imports.
Singapore is likely to benefit from reduced tariffs forpharmaceutical and petrochemical products.
The EU and ASEAN launched free trade talks in 2007, butabandoned them two years later, the EU choosing instead toconduct bilateral talks with individual members.
The European Commission is already negotiating free tradeaccords with Malaysia and Vietnam and launched talks withThailand in March.
Subject to approval in Singapore and by the 28 EU memberstates and the European Parliament, the agreement should enterinto force in late 2014 or early 2015.
