Philippines Retreats From Threat to Expel E.U. Envoys<br />that For so long as the president has tolerated these interferences, he has decided that these must stop,<br />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<br />that the European Union might tighten its terms of trade with the Philippines over its spotty rights record.<br />The Philippines’ trade secretary, Ramon Lopez, who recently visited Europe, played down on Friday the impact of Mr. Duterte’s<br />statement, stressing instead a "lot of collaborative, positive efforts and programs" with the European Union.<br />" 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<br />and do not represent the position of the European Union,<br />13, 2017<br />MANILA — The Philippines backed away on Friday from President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat the day before to expel European ambassadors,<br />his spokesman said, after apparently misunderstanding the source of criticism of his deadly drug crackdown.<br />But after the Progressive Alliance issued its statement, the European Union sought to distance itself and said trade relations remained intact.
