After an opening ceremony and gala dinner on Thursday 18 October, the European leaders are meeting their Asian counterparts on Friday 19, for the 12th ASEM (Europe-Asia Meeting) summit on the theme of "Europe and Asia: global partners for global challenges".
In total, the leaders of the 30 European states (the EU28, Norway and Switzerland) and of the 21 Asian countries, including China, Russia and Japan, "will try to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the two continents in a broad range of areas", notably trade and investment, connectivity, sustainable development and the climate, and security challenges (terrorism, non-proliferation, cyber-security, irregular migration), according to the Council.
The summit will cover "the promotion of inclusive growth and sustainable connectivity". According to the Council, the focus will be put on strengthening sustainable connectivity between Europe and Asia in the three ASEM pillars: political issues, economic and financial issues, and social and cultural issues as a means of bringing the countries, peoples and societies closer together.
The meeting is expected to enable ranks to be closed between Europeans and Asians, and to state their common commitment to fighting against economic protectionism and to supporting the multilateral system and World Trade Organisation. The EU is expected to take advantage of this 12th summit to remind its Asian partners of its trade ambitions with an economically very dynamic region.
Europeans and Asians could also discuss the global economy, cross-border trade and investment flows, and the impact of the digital economy and the need to work together on taxation and the digitisation of the economy.
In addition, more informally, Europeans and Asians will cover a number of regional and international issues, including non-proliferation, denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, the Iranian nuclear deal, the fight against terrorism, maritime security, climate change and migration.
Summit with South Korea
At the end of the ASEM summit, an EU-South Korea summit will be held, which is expected to enable an update on trade relations between the two partners.
Last July, the EU-Korea free trade agreement – the first agreement between the EU and an Asian country – celebrated its seventh anniversary. The agreement has proved its economic worth, which the figures confirm: in 2017, growth in trade in goods stood at 47% compared with 2010, to reach a value of €100 billion in 2017, while European investment was up by 140% over the same period, to reach €5.5 billion in 2017.
This 'new generation' agreement has nevertheless grown old. Technological and economic development have made certain aspects of the agreement obsolete, a report from the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) notes, which makes an update of the agreement urgent, according to the report.
EU-ASEAN summit
In addition, the leaders of the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, (ASEAN) – a region which is the EU's third biggest trading partner (see EUROPE 112119) – will meet to discuss stepping up relations, particularly on security, peace-keeping and stability, and to discuss strengthening the international order and rules-based multilateralism.
They will also examine progress on the negotiations to conclude a comprehensive air transport agreement between the EU and ASEAN and on the two parties' work to establish the parameters of a future inter-regional trade agreement, on the basis of the bilateral agreements between several countries of the ASEAN and EU. The discussions will pave the way for the 22nd EU-ASEAN meeting, in Brussels on 21 January 2019.
On the sidelines of these summits, the signature will take place of trade agreements with Singapore (see EUROPE 112114), a free trade agreement and an investment protection agreement. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel and Camille-Cerise Gessant)