The European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reaffirmed their cooperation at the 31st meeting of the EU-ASEAN Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on 8 May, emphasising their strategic partnership, shared values and cooperation in the defence of international law, peace and human rights.
Co-chaired by representatives of the Philippines and the European External Action Service (EEAS) with DG International Partnerships, the meeting brought together Permanent Representatives to ASEAN and officials from the EU and the ASEAN Secretariat, as well as EU Member States, East Timor and the European Investment Bank as observers.
The two sides reviewed achievements, including the action plan for implementing the EU-ASEAN strategic partnership (2023-2027), 43% of whose lines of action have been completed, while pledging to continue cooperation.
They also welcomed the progress made in implementing Team Europe’s planned mobilisation of around €10 billion for the ASEAN region, linked in particular to implementing the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.
The EU and ASEAN then reaffirmed their willingness to intensify their engagement on trade and economic issues, recalling their shared long-term objective of establishing a future free trade area.
They also discussed joint efforts to promote connectivity between the two regions, welcoming in particular the EU’s new SCOPE programme, which aims to support sustainable connectivity between the two regions in areas such as trade, digital technology, renewable energy and transport.
More broadly, discussions focused on regional and global challenges, such as climate change and security threats, with an emphasis on cyber security and maritime safety.
Finally, both parties reaffirmed their commitment to rules-based multilateralism and to respecting and promoting international law. More specifically, they reiterated the need to respect Ukraine’s “sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity”, but also expressed their support for implementing a 5-Point Consensus drawn up by ASEAN on the political situation in Myanmar. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)