The European Union(EU) is threatening to move to a next dispute-settlement procedure over key international labor conventions unless South Korea endorses them by mid-March.

In a meeting with South Korean labor representatives in Seoul on Tuesday, the European Commission’s Head of Unit for Trade and Sustainable Development, Madelaine Tuininga, noted the importance of South Korea ratifying key conventions of the International Labor Organization(ILO). 

Citing preestablished procedures, she said the EU can call for the establishment of a panel of experts after March 17th if the Korean parliament refuses to ratify them. 

Tuininga and other EU delegates attended inter-governmental discussions with Seoul officials on Monday, launching dispute-settlement procedures. 

The EU is taking issue with Seoul’s delayed efforts to ratify four ILO conventions concerning freedom of association and abolition of forced labor since the bilateral free trade agreement took effect in 2011.