Brussels, 21/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 21 April, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Indonesia's President Joko Widodo announced the conclusion of preparatory work for negotiations on an economic partnership agreement between the EU and Indonesia.
“We finished our discussions [on Wednesday 20 April] for negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. This is good news both for Indonesia and the EU”, Juncker stated at a press conference. “The EU and Indonesia have made a big step forward” with the conclusion of the scoping exercise for the future free trade agreement, Widodo said, adding that this document would be the basis for the agreement.
The negotiations will begin once the Council of the EU has given its agreement. “We will formally launch the negotiations as soon as possible, and the first round of negotiations”, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström stated. She was also with Juncker and Widodo on Thursday and had met Indonesia's Trade Minister Thomas T. Lembong on 4 April (see EUROPE 11525).
This agreement should enable closer trade links to be created between the EU and Indonesia, Juncker said. It will also enable their partnership to be developed on the basis of “shared values”.
For Widodo, such an agreement would correspond to Indonesia's commitment to make its economy more open and competitive. Stating that the agreement would develop the Indonesian economy as well as those of the EU member states, he said he hoped “the UK will continue to be part of the EU”.
Bilateral relations between the EU and Indonesia are currently governed by a partnership and cooperation agreement that came into force on 1 May 2014.
Along with the Philippines, Indonesia is one of the EU's partners in the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN). In its new trade strategy presented in October 2015 (see EUROPE 11410), the Commission proposed opening free trade negotiations with Indonesia, following on from agreements earlier concluded with Singapore and Vietnam, and following ongoing negotiations with Burma/Myanmar (for an investment agreement) and negotiations that are on hold with Malaysia and Thailand (free trade agreements).
During their meeting on Thursday, Juncker and Widodo also tackled international issues - including counter-terrorism and extremism. For Widodo, Indonesia - the biggest Muslim country in the world with 250 million inhabitants - shows “how Islam, democracy and tolerance can work together, hand in hand”. Juncker also stated that Jakarta was an important partnership with regard to environmental issues. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Emmanuel Hagry)