Brussels, 27/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - During ministerial consultations on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economy ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday 26 April, the EU and ASEAN nations agreed to take initiatives to relaunch talks on a free trade agreement between the two regions. The talks were started in 2007 and have been on ice since 2009.
“Senior officials of ASEAN and EU will meet towards the end of the year to take stock and explore the way forward and report back to the ministers”, says a joint press release from European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and the ASEAN bloc trade ministers (Brunei, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand).
“The EU is determined to have a region to region free trade agreement”, Malmström told press at the end of the meeting. “But it's important to take good decisions. That's why we have proposed this roadmap on potential free trade agreements, in order to take stock at the end of the year”, she added.
Launched in 2007, the bloc to bloc trade negotiations were broken off by the Asian party in 2009 because of disagreements over the EU's reluctance about Burma/Myanmar's taking part - given the human rights situation there at that time. After being isolated for decades under the yoke of a military junta that was dissolved in 2011, Burma/Myanmar has now begun a process of opening up and of reforms, which has enabled the EU to restore its trade preferences to the country.
Since the EU-ASEAN free trade negotiations were put on ice, the EU has engaged in trade negotiations with several countries from the area separately. At the end of 2012, the EU thus concluded a free trade agreement with Singapore. Its talks with Vietnam are nearing their goal and negotiations are under way with Burma/Myanmar for an agreement on investment protection. Free trade negotiations were launched with Malaysia in 2010, but they have been on hold since the general elections in the country in spring 2013. Talks were also launched with Thailand in June 2013, but they too are on hold following the coup there in 2014.
The EU is the ASEAN bloc's second biggest trading partner with a trade volume of US$248 billion in 2014. The EU was also the first source of foreign direct investment in the area, with US$29.1 billion, according to the joint ministerial press release. (Emmanuel Hagry)