On June 30, 2019, the European Commission and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam signed the Free Trade Agreement and Investment Protection Agreement between the EU and Vietnam. The agreements are based on the joint commitment of the two sides to open, fair, and rules-based trade liberalization and economic integration. Negotiations lasted from 2012 to December 2015. Doubts over the correct ratification procedure have delayed progress, but the European Commission now hopes that it can be ratified in 2019.