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  1. Negotiations

EU-ASEAN

The European Union was planning on a bilateral trade agreement with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for many years. On 4 May 2007, the two sides agreed to start negotiations.

The EU-ASEAN FTA is supposed to be a comprehensive agreement. While ASEAN states are hoping to gain additional market access in the EU, the agreement is expected to have a much bigger impact in strengthening business opportunities for European TNCs in the region.

The talks have moved slowly and it’s not clear if the final deal will take the form of separate agreements between the EU and individual ASEAN members, something the EU seems to prefer. This would allow European governments to avoid taking on any commitments that support the regime in Burma but also to deal with the economic heterogeneity among ASEAN members.

EU procedures require that all ASEAN countries sign a Partnership Cooperation Agreement, containing a commitment to human rights, as a prerequisite to an FTA. Indonesia has already concluded its PCA with the EU, Singapore and Thailand are in advanced stages of negotiations, and Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are soon to begin. The Philippine government stated early on that it expects problems in negotiating a PCA, as the agreement apparently requires that the signatory state join the International Criminal Court.

Click here for the European Commission’s page on the EU-Indonesia FTA

last update: May 2012
photo: People’s Health Movement

’Vision group’ says Asean and EU regions would benefit from pact
6-Sep-2006 Bangkok Post
Burma and the US elections are singled out as sticking points.
EU to make stronger presence in South-East Asia
7-Aug-2006 The Star
The European Union (EU) is well on its way to strengthening its “presence” in Malaysia, and in the South-East Asian region.
EU-Asia trade pact in prospect
17-May-2006 FT
The European Union is likely to decide by the end of the year whether to launch talks on a comprehensive trade agreement with south-east Asia, its first in Asia. The EU move is seen as a response to a widening web of bilateral deals being negotiated in the region by the US, China, Japan and Korea that threaten to sideline European economic interests.
Myanmar an obstacle as EU pushes for FTA with Southeast Asia
16-May-2006 Today
The European Union wants to strike a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but human rights issues in Myanmar could be a problem, EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson has said.
ASEAN trade ministers meet to accelerate creation of European-style economic community
14-May-2006 Philippine Star
Southeast Asian trade ministers, pressured by China and India’s growing economic might, will gather this week in Manila to chart plans to accelerate their daunting ambition of creating a European-style economic community. They will also assess progress of ASEAN’s various free trade negotiations.
Decision on Asean-EU free trade pact in August
17-Mar-2006 Business Times
The European Union (EU) and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) are still studying the possibility of having free trade agreements (FTAs) either on a regional basis or bilaterally with individual countries, says European Commission ambassador and head of delegation Thierry Rommel.
EU-Asean FTA talks at intense exploratory stage
19-Jan-2006 The Edge Daily
EU-Asean free trade talks are at "an intense" exploratory stage and the third high-level meeting of trade officials from both regions is scheduled to take place in Bangkok next week, said EU envoy to Malaysia, Thierry Rommel.
ASEAN-EU FTA: Study due out next April
14-Oct-2005 Bangkok Post
Policymakers from Asean and the European Union are expected to receive a feasibility study on the free-trade agreement between the two blocs in April, according to an EU trade official.
EU, ASEAN view FTA to boost trade
17-Jul-2005 Jakarta Post
Owing to slow multilateral trade negotiations, the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — two of the world’s most important trading blocs — are moving toward a free trade agreement as a means of boosting two-way trade.
EU and ASEAN to study possible free trade deal
27-Apr-2005 Jakarta Post
The European Community and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to study the potential for a free trade agreement between the two groups, trade officials said on Wednesday.