As one of Asia’s leading military powers and arms manufacturers, South Korea has developed a solid and growing security cooperation framework with the EU, with nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and cybersecurity at its core. In light of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Charles Michel’s and Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Seoul on 22 May 2023 may have given this close relationship a new impetus.
The summit on 16 March 2023 between the Japanese and Republic of Korea (ROK) heads of state was seen as a milestone in relations between the two powers. Such a thawing could present a unique opportunity for Japan and Korea’s strategic partners and see the establishment of a structured trilateral relationship on green cooperation with the EU. This EIAS opinion piece explores how a trilateral promises to strengthen current rapprochement efforts and complements ongoing measures being taken to achieve each actor’s strategic goals in the green transition.
Signed in November 2022, the EU-ROK Digital Partnership offers itself as an unprecedented opportunity for both parties to develop their cooperation in the digital realm. Yet for all it does succeed in covering, the agreement remains silent on development cooperation in the area of digital capacity building in third countries.
While the EU’s Central Asia strategy places an emphasis on human security, the issue of migration is a key pillar in the pursuit of resilience and should not be viewed solely through the lens of security. This Op-Ed examines migration patterns in Central Asia and the EU‘s strategy for the region in light of the war in Ukraine, providing three key focus points.
On the 24th March 2023 the Cyber Security Association of China and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China co-hosted a hybrid event titled the “China-Europe Track II Digital Dialogue Plan” in which experts and representatives from Chinese and European universities, think tanks, research institutions, hospitals and associations took part in a series of panel discussions designed to identify best practice and ways forward in digital cooperation between the EU and China.
During the EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit held in Brussels on 14 December 2022, the European Commission and the Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to launch an Energy Dialogue. Between November and December 2022 Indonesia and Vietnam signed a JETP to fight climate change by reducing the use of fossil fuels and developing renewable energy sources. ASEAN’s green transition with EU cooperation can be very fruitful and a leading example for many other countries.
Since the European Union (EU) launched its New Strategy on Central Asia in 2019, the EU has been striving to play a role of greater significance in the area. The EU is committed to forging a stronger security and economic partnership with Central Asian states whilst encouraging the region’s development into a more resilient, prosperous, and closely interconnected political and economic space.
In November 2022, the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Korea (ROK/ Korea) set in motion their Digital Partnership. The initiative was largely anticipated by both partners and finally came to fruition after years of negotiation. The partnership sets a commonly accepted framework which aims “to collectively respond to the implications of emerging technologies on people, industry and society, and to develop and advance technologies, policies, and research cooperation”. How will the EU-Korea Digital Partnership be implemented and how will it address the ambitions it has put forward?
Before the 24th of February 2022, freight through the New Eurasian Land Bridge (NELB) or so-called ‘Northern Corridor’ —with Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine as its most critical components— showed great promise. However, the war in Ukraine and the related Western sanctions against Russia and Belarus have created significant shifts in global geo-economics and supply chains. This has heavily affected various sectors such as global energy markets, transportation, and logistics, alongside infrastructural connectivity initiatives.