Publications Categories - Page 5 of 34

The EU-ASEAN Energy Dialogue – Practices and implementation

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.

Recalibrating the EU’s Approach to Civil Society in Central Asia to Local Resilience

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.

The EU-Korea Digital Partnership: Advancing cooperation in the cyber world

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?

EU Energy Security and Kazakhstan’s Position on the Middle Corridor

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.

The EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit: Advancing bilateral cooperation in challenging times

On 14 December 2022, the “EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit” took place in Brussels, celebrating 45 years of EU-ASEAN diplomatic relations. Alongside the Summit a number of other meetings were held, among which the “EU-ASEAN Business Summit” and the “EU-ASEAN Youth Summit”, both of which took place on 12 December 2022. Following the Summit, the EU and ASEAN are more committed than ever to actively promote enhanced engagement by strengthening their Strategic Partnership. They also agreed to expand their shared efforts on climate change mitigation, people-to-people connectivity and security in the Indo-Pacific.

Southeast Asia’s Summit Season

In November 2022, Southeast Asia entered the centre of global attention as the region hosted an unprecedented group of major international summits: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Related Summits in Cambodia on 10-13 November, the Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders’ Summit in Indonesia on 15-16 November and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Thailand on 18-19 November. Yet, as the summit season gathered the world’s leaders to foster stronger international cooperation, the gatherings were dominated by soaring diplomatic tensions and the growing strategic polarisation, consequently putting Southeast Asia’s international leadership to the test.

Contemplating the Climate Struggle at COP27 – Examples from Southeast Asia

From 6-18 November 2022 the ancient city of Egypt, Sharm el-Sheikh, was host to the Conference Of the Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC). The four principal goals of this year’s COP included 1) Mitigation – essentially implementing the Glasgow Pact; 2) Adaptation – how to adapt the strategies to stay at the forefront of climate action; 3) Finance – how and by whom should disaster-hit states be compensated; and 4) Collaboration between civil society and governments.

The Growing EU Engagement in Central Asia: Challenging the Russian Predominance in its Traditional Backyard

On 18 November 2022, Samarkand hosted the “EU-Central Asia Connectivity Conference: Global Gateway”. Preceded by the late October 2022 visit to Astana by European Council President Charles Michel, the summit confirmed a new and more vigorous European push towards the Central Asian region, historically located in the backyard of the Russian Federation.

Strengthening the EU-Vietnam Partnership: Financing a Green and Just Energy Transition

Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia, expected to become one of the world’s top 20 leading countries by 2050. The country’s export-oriented economy and efforts to transform Vietnam into a manufacturing hub, make it well-placed to keep on attracting trade and investment from external partners from within and outside the region. Yet, despite its climate ambitions and corresponding engagements, Vietnam is also one of the most vulnerable countries in terms of facing high risk disaster levels. The question is how to finance Vietnam’s green and just energy transition.