EU seeks tighter bond with Indonesia: Top diplomat
The Jakarta Post - 03 June 2021
EU seeks tighter bond with Indonesia: Top diplomat
By Dian Septiari
The Indo-Pacific region will be the new “center of gravity” for the 21st century, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell exclaimed, as he kicked off his visit to Jakarta this week amid lasting tensions on palm oil.
Borrell was in Jakarta on Thursday for a string of meetings with Indonesian officials, which included a courtesy call on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. He also met with officials from the ASEAN Secretariat.
“The history of mankind of the 21st century will be written in the Indo-Pacific area. We have to be aware of that. We have to be aware that the center of gravity of the world is no longer in the middle of Europe; it is here in the [...] so-called Indo-Pacific,” he said during a joint press statement with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
Bearing this in mind, the former Spanish foreign minister said that Indonesia, together with ASEAN, would play a very important role in the shift of power, which is why the EU would have to pay more attention to the country.
In her own remarks, Retno said that “open and inclusive” cooperation in the Indo-Pacific would prevent harmful rivalries and ensure continued regional stability, peace and prosperity, in accordance with the principles reflected in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
“I also emphasize the importance of concrete cooperation with the European Union in various fields in the context of Indo-Pacific cooperation,” she said.
Geographically situated far away from the Indo-Pacific region, which is widely accepted as the area straddling the Indian and Pacific oceans, the EU is following the lead of other global powers in formulating its own Indo-Pacific strategy. This is to better engage with a region that hosts some of the world’s fastest growing economies.
Chief among the bloc’s interests are the ongoing talks on the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA), which began in 2016 and is currently in its 10th negotiation round.
“[One part of the] history will be written if the EU engages more economically with countries like Indonesia. We have to push the negotiations for this [CEPA]. It has been discussed for the last six years and we cannot wait six years more,” Borrell said.
Talks to finalize the negotiations have faced many challenges, most notably the differences in opinion on palm oil, Indonesia’s most valuable commodity.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, categorizes palm oil as an unsustainable product and has laid out plans to phase out its use in biofuels by 2030.
With many of its farming populations dependent on palm oil to lift themselves out of poverty, Indonesia filed a case with the World Trade Organization (WTO) disputing the Eurobloc’s palm oil policy in December 2019.
“I know that we have some specific problems and tension on palm oil, but our relationship has to be a broader one. There are so many other issues on which we can cooperate,” Borrell said.
“Certainly palm oil has been diminishing or jeopardizing our relations, but we have to overcome that.”
In her own remarks, Retno said Indonesia simply wished for the EU to treat palm oil fairly. “I convey my government’s seriousness to produce palm oil in a sustainable manner and continue strengthening the ISPO [Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil standard],” she said.
Beyond the commodity spat, however, both sides reiterated their commitment to the common values of democracy, human rights and multilateralism, which have served as a “strong foundation” to their relations.
“This solid foundation also helps our efforts to resolve differences on several issues. We are committed to putting our partnerships toward mutually beneficial long-term strategic goals,” Indonesia’s top diplomat said.
Retno and Borrell also discussed the mounting gap of vaccinations between rich and poor countries, as well as various global issues such as conflict in Myanmar, Palestine and Afghanistan.
They also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the EU and KfW Germany, a state-owned development bank that seeks to funnel an additional EU grant of 10 million euros (US$12.18 million) into strengthening research capacity for two university hospitals, in South Sulawesi and East Java, for its work related to the handling of COVID-19 and other pandemics.
The EU has boasted that it is among the most generous donors of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, having exported half of the vaccines it produces to the rest of the world.
Even so, it has also pushed back on the possibility of waiving intellectual property rights on vaccines and is formulating travel restrictions that could discriminate against certain vaccines.
