Leaders of the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) celebrated 45 years of diplomatic relations at a summit in Brussels on Wednesday 14 December. This was an opportunity for the two blocs to commit to further developing their strategic partnership and to recall their future ambitions. In their statement and in front of the press, they did not fail to recall their commitment to a rules-based multilateral trading system.
Existing trade agreements between the EU and some ASEAN countries offer opportunities, the two blocs acknowledge in their joint statement. The EU has an agreement with Vietnam and Singapore and is more or less in discussion with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, recalled that the EU was ASEAN’s third largest trading partner and second largest investor in the region.
This is why the leaders of both sides see the future EU/ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as “a common long-term objective”. Charles Michel described it as “a dream” during a press conference. Both the Cambodian and Philippine leaders have affirmed their commitment to the proposed EU-ASEAN FTA.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has insisted that ASEAN wants to move beyond financial support from the Europeans to a relationship of equals, to which the trade agreement would contribute.
Global gateway. He was echoing, in particular, another announcement from the summit: the mobilisation by the EU of 10 billion euros for ASEAN countries through the ‘Global Gateway’ initiative. These investments, in the form of loans and grants, will focus on energy, transport, digitalisation, education and the promotion of sustainable trade and supply chains.
Increased connectivity. EU and ASEAN leaders have indicated that they want to advance the implementation of their joint ministerial declaration on connectivity, adopted in 2020. They also want to promote and strengthen the mobility of people from both sides, in particular students.
Sustainable development. Both blocs look forward to regular work in a joint dialogue on sustainable development. They also commit to working together to achieve ambitious results at COP15 on biodiversity.
In their statement, the leaders indicate as well that they will promote decent work and workers’ rights.
Two partnerships signed with Thailand and Malaysia. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, officially signed the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Thailand and the one with Malaysia on 14 December. These agreements will strengthen political dialogue and cooperation on a number of issues such as energy, transport, science, technology and trade (see EUROPE 13014/19).
See the joint EU/ASEAN statement: https://aeur.eu/f/4od (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)