Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be in Brussels on Wednesday 14 December for a summit celebrating 45 years of diplomatic relations with the EU. It will be an opportunity for the two blocs to strengthen their ties, but also to reaffirm their commitment to the rules-based international order in the current geopolitical context.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, will co-chair the summit with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who chairs ASEAN in 2022. Only nine nations will be present from the ASEAN side, as the leader of the Burmese military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, has not been invited to the event by his nine ASEAN counterparts.
Global challenges
The leaders of the two blocs will adopt a joint declaration at the end of the summit, in which they are expected to affirm their commitment to the rules-based international order. However, they had difficulty finding the right language for the war in Ukraine. This has been done, according to an EU source, but the wording on the treatment of Russia is expected to be softer than the EU would have liked.
They are also expected to address the situation in Myanmar, Afghanistan, the Korean peninsula and the South China Sea.
The EU will also reaffirm its support for the central role of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region.
The relationship between the two parties
The leaders want to reaffirm, on the occasion of this commemorative summit, their mutual commitment to their EU/ASEAN strategic partnership, in place since 2020. They will discuss future activities in this framework, such as connectivity, green transition, trade or digital transition.
The EU also believes it is high time to increase trade with ASEAN, given the untapped potential in the region, a European official said. This would be an opportunity to make European supply chains more resilient, says the EU.
Finally, the leaders will welcome the EU-ASEAN Action Plan for the period 2023-2027. It outlines cooperation in areas such as pandemic recovery, sustainable trade, sustainable connectivity, promotion of decent work, disaster preparedness and security cooperation.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala are also expected to sign two cooperation partnerships with Malaysia and Thailand respectively at the summit. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)