The EU and ASEAN

­

Ready for the Future?

Name: Judith Becker

Course:

SEA

Regional

Studies

Final Paper

Date:

05.01.2008

Table of Content

Introduction 3

The `Spider-Web′ of the EU-ASEAN Relations 5

The Major Developments in the Relations since 2001 10

Conclusion 14

References 15

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Introduction

The European Union (EU)1 and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have a

long lasting relationship and had many events to celebrate in 2007. The EU celebrated the

fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome (1957) and ASEAN celebrated the

fortieth anniversary of the signing of the Bangkok Declaration (1967), which respectively

established both organizations. Furthermore, the official or formal relations between the two

regional actors started thirty years ago, in 1977. On November 22, 2007, to honour all these

anniversaries, the first Commemorative Summit of the EU and ASEAN commenced in

Singapore (European Commission, 2007a).

Nonetheless, informal relations between the EU and ASEAN already started in 1972,

and the EU was one of the first international actors to start a dialogue with ASEAN after its

establishment. The relations were formalized in 1977, through the establishment of "ties with

the Council of Ministers [. . .] and the Committee of Permanent Representatives

(COREPER)" (ASEAN, 2007a) and the first Ministerial Meeting between the EU and

ASEAN was held one year later. With the signing of the EU-ASEAN Cooperation

Agreement, the relations were finally institutionalized in Kuala Lumpur on March 7, 1980.

The relations are characterized by many achievements and many drawbacks in the last

decades. Additionally, even though the relations between the EU and ASEAN date back to the

beginning of the 1970s, they have not fulfilled the expectations of many people in both

Europe and Southeast Asia for two main reasons. Firstly, the context in which these relations

take place has significantly changed with the end of the Cold War and the terrorist attacks of

September 11, 2001. Naturally, the aims and objectives of the relationship have to be much

broader than thirty years ago, because they have to take into account these changed

international circumstances since they do not take place in a vacuum. Secondly, both ASEAN

and the EU developed internally, for example through different rounds of enlargements.

These internal developments of the two partners have to be taken into account as well, just as

the changed international environment.

1 The essay will use the term EU for reasons of simplicity. At first, there were three separate communities, the

European Economic Community (EEC), the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European

Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). In 1967, the three separate communities were merged into the

European Communities (EC). The EU was established with the Treaty of Maastricht (1992).

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Since 2001, owing to the reasons mentioned above, new initiatives were proposed to

reinvigorate the relationship and to make it more effective in facing the new, profoundly

changed international arena. Can these initiatives achieve the aim of improving the

relationship and consequently prepare it for the challenging future? The essay will proceed as

follows. Firstly, the `spider-web′ of relations between the EU and ASEAN will be portrayed

to give an impression of the complexity of the relationship. Secondly, the main developments

since 2001 will be introduced and analyzed to be able, thirdly, to conclude if the relations are

healthy enough to face the new challenges of the future.

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