On 21 April 2023, the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS) hosted a roundtable discussion and expert exchange with European Union Visitors Programme (EUVP) delegates.
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.
The report of our EIAS-European Parliament in ASEAN Seminar in collaboration with the ASEAN Brussels Committee (ABC) on EU-ASEAN Relations after the December 2022 Commemorative Summit is now available for downloading.
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.
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.
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.
On 12 December 2022, a lunch meeting and discussion with a Visiting Delegation from ASEAN under the EU Visiting Programme (EUVP) was held at EIAS in Brussels. During the discussion thoughts and concerns were shared regarding EU-ASEAN relations, common challenges and potential solutions, as well as how to advance the EU-ASEAN Strategic Partnership. Especially the fields of trade, green transition, connectivity, youth cooperation, as well EU-ASEAN relations in the Indo-Pacific, ASEAN Centrality and Parliamentary cooperation were addressed.
On 28 October 2022 EIAS had the honour to host a meeting with the Secretary (Minister) of the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines H.E. Mr Alfredo Pascual.
On 22 June 2022, European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis presented the Commission’s new approach to Free Trade Agreements (FTA). As one of its main features, the plan seeks to strengthen the binding nature of Sustainable Development provisions and rules within EU FTAs. This is particularly relevant in view of the EU’s FTAs and trade negotiations with ASEAN and its members.