Vietnamese lawmakers and scholars have joined EU and ASEAN experts at an international seminar in the central city of Da Nang to discuss the harmonisation of laws while building the ASEAN Community.

At the two-day forum, beginning on July 16, the participants examined the example of the EU integration process and explored common standards on the regional market, the ASEAN integration process and legal needs for the transition process, among others.

Ngo Duc Manh, Vice Chairman of the NA's Committee for External Relations, stated that legal harmonisation is a relatively new topic in Vietnam, expressing his interest in using the EU example to accelerate the legal harmonisation process within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and promote the roles of the member states’ respective lawmaking agencies, including the Vietnamese National Assembly.

According to Juan Zaratiegui Biurrun, Politic Advisor to the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, EU considers the National Assembly as a major agency in Vietnam’s modernisation process. The revision of the Law on the Press and the Criminal Law in 2015 and 2016 demonstrate Vietnam’s commitment to human rights and deepen Vietnam-EU ties.

The event, co-organised by the National Assembly Office and the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, is part of the Vietnam–EU Strategic Dialogue Facility.-VNA