EU proposes expanding partnership with ASEAN

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and the European Commission have adopted the joint communication “The EU and ASEAN: a partnership with a strategic purpose”, which aims to take bilateral ties to the next level.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs andSecurity Policy, Federica Mogherini, and the European Commission haveadopted the joint communication “The EU and ASEAN: a partnership with astrategic purpose”, which aims to take bilateral ties to the next level.

“The partnership between the EU and ASEAN iscrucial and we are determined to build on it and strengthen ourpolitical and economic cooperation. From trade to security, from climatechange to the rule of law, we have a deep cooperation and as the EU weare supporting ASEAN integration,” Mogherini said. “Deepening andbroadening our relations with ASEAN is key for the EU’s Asia strategy”.

In the joint communication, the EU makes thecase for taking trade relations with ASEAN to a higher level by workingtowards a region-to-region free trade agreement, while speeding upconnectivity by exchanging experiences and mobilising financialresources and expertise to support ASEAN efforts, such as on the singlemarket and the civil aviation agreement negotiations.

The union also commits to intensifying cooperation on climate change,initiating a new EU-ASEAN policy dialogue on the environment andsustainable development, and doubling financial support to more than 2billion EUR for ASEAN member states.

Additionally, the EU will also implement a package of initiatives in thefield of non-traditional security, including maritime security,disaster management and crisis response, and transnational crime.

The EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)established relations in 1972. In October 2014, they met for an informalLeaders’ Meeting for the first time since 2007. A new EU Ambassador toASEAN will take up office in Jakarta, Indonesia in September 2015.

The EU is ASEAN’s second largest trade partner now, with bilateraltrade exceeding 238 billion EUR in 2013. It is also the biggest providerof FDI in ASEAN, accounting for 22 percent of total FDI in 2013.

The EU is a major development partner for ASEAN and the biggest donorto the ASEAN Secretariat. In the 2014-2020 budget cycle, the EU willprovide 170 million EUR for ASEAN integration and the Secretariat, morethan double the 70 million EUR donated in the previous cycle(2007-2013).

The two sides have worked togetherto enhance crisis response and disaster management. Most recently, theyorganised the second high-level dialogue on maritime securitycooperation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in order to exchange experience onintegrated and cooperative approaches to maritime issues, such asinter-agency cooperation, transnational crime and port security.-VNA

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