Thailand–EU FTA Negotiations: Hidden Hurdles and Easy Wins
Despite confidence from leaders, both parties are walking a tightrope between their international interests and domestic anxieties.
Despite confidence from leaders, both parties are walking a tightrope between their international interests and domestic anxieties.
On 31 May 2024 EIAS hosted a Visiting Delegation of the Standing Committee on Energy of the House of Representatives of Thailand, during a roundtable meeting. The Thai Delegation was visiting Belgium and France to attend meetings with policy makers, experts and other relevant stakeholders working in the field of energy.
In an era marked by profound and unprecedented geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, supply chain disruptions, and global economic downturn, the revival of negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and Thailand signifies an opportunity to revitalise the economic relations between the two long-time trading partners. Leveraging the foundation laid by the EU-Thai Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) signed on 14 December 2022, both parties have affirmed their commitment towards upholding the rules-based international order. The PCA is the reflection of the EU’s strategic intent to address the increasing geopolitical risks, economic uncertainties, and the climate crisis by actively cultivating like-minded alliances in the Indo-Pacific region.
On 14 May 2023, Thailand saw almost 40 million people head to the polls to vote in its first national election post-COVID, the largest turnout of any Thai election thus far. This election can be considered as one of the most significant political events in Thailand since the pro-democracy movement of the mid-1970s. Over 70 parties competed within the election, with over half of the votes going to two opposition parties: Move Forward and Pheu Thai. However, Thailand has found itself in a political stalemate as it still awaits the final outcome of the May election.
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the most serious threats to marine ecosystems, undermining the national and regional efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks. With an estimated global value of IUU fishing between 10-20 billion EUR per year, one in every five fish is illegally caught from IUU fishing activities annually. Moreover, IUU fishing also comes with social and economic implications since it undermines the fairness of responsible fishermen and gives rise to forced labour and human trafficking.
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.
Thailand could be a leader in ASEAN in terms of « Green Transition ». If Bangkok successfully transitions towards a greener economy and comply with the EU Green Deal’s legislation, the EU and Thailand could resume the signing of the 2013 EU-Thailand Partnership Cooperation Agreement and negotiations around a Free-Trade Agreement.