Brussels, 22/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - During his six-day visit to South-East Asia, European Commissioner Pascal Lamy signalled the EU's desire to extend its relations with the Asian block, assuming the latter fulfils its regional integration ambitions.
From Thursday to Tuesday, Pascal Lamy paid flying visits to "take the temperature" of three countries representing the region's diversity - Singapore, whose GDP is higher than the EU's as a whole; Indonesia, the biggest ASEAN country; and Cambodia, which is one of the least developed countries in the world, he explained in a speech in Phnom Penh before heading back to Brussels. He said his trip gave him the impression that each country represented a different challenge to the EU. For Singapore, for example, it was now a question of exploring the potential to go beyond WTO pledges. Mr Lamy promised his counterpart George Yeo that he would seriously and pragmatically examine the free trade agreement he would be proposing that the EU negotiate (see EUROPE of 20 February). In Brussels, sources noted that the exercise would have to be justified, particularly in terms of going beyond the Doha multilateral trade round for services (banking, telecommunications, distribution and insurance) where the EU is particularly competitive on the global scale. The goods market is already very open in both continents. The Commissioner said that any negotiations would have to focus on investment, intellectual property rights and common rules since such an idea might only be fruitful against a specific backdrop.
"I believe that, by the end of year, I shall more or less know whether I can mobilise the representatives of the business world or not", he said. Mr Lamy continued by saying it would also be necessary to work on this question, calmly, given the "priority that we have set ourselves, that of succeeding what we began in Doha". However, in Singapore as on the other stages of his journey, the Commissioner mainly placed emphasis on regional integration, giving a detailed presentation of the different sorts of models ("good neighbourliness" and "happy family") that he prefers to describe as poles of one and the same "continuum". He suggests Asian countries clarify their aims. The most important choice concerns the level of integration, he said, considering, for his part, that "we must be more ambitious at the bilateral and multilateral levels if we want to master globalisation", which "is also true for inter-regional agreements, where we must go beyond abolishing customs". In slightly less coded language, Mr Lamy pointed out just before leaving the region that "Europe is ready to explore the possibility of strengthening still further our relations from region to region, to which we Europeans attach so much importance in this most recent chapter of globalisation".
In Djakarta, the second stage of the journey, the Commissioner noted that "things have clearly moved on" since his last visit in September. Nonetheless, "there is still much to be done", mainly in terms of fighting against corruption and transition towards an "open economy, founded on rules", he said. Mr Lamy welcomed the adoption of a new legislation on investment, which should facilitate operations by foreign investors, and announced that a European delegation would be going to Djakarta early next month with a view to giving the kick-off for bilateral dialogue and cooperation at the WTO. He also pointed out that the Union would provide Indonesia with technical business assistance, up to EUR 28 million over five years (customs, quality norms and investment).
Finally, in Phnom Penh, where he inaugurated the European Commission representation, Lamy said that the most pressing challenge was to support Cambodia's accelerated integration into the world trade system and help it diversify its exports. "We shall work hand in hand for Cambodia to join the WTO as soon as possible (...), possibly in time for the next ministerial conference", to be held in Mexico in the first half of 2003, he said, promising an envelope of 3 million euro for technical assistance to the country's trading capability.