EU TO CONDUCT MID-TERM REVIEW ON STRATEGY PAPER

From Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

BRUSSELS, May 5 (Bernama) -- The European Union (EU) will conduct a mid-term
review of the programmes implemented under the 'EU Strategy Paper 2007-2013' to
ensure all of them are on track.

Spokeswoman for European Commission's external relations and European
Neighbourhood Policy, Christiane Hohmann, said the EU would usually have a
programme that runs for five years in Malaysia.

"And in 2010, we will will have the mid-term review. We will look at the
programmes that we have organised between 2007 and now, to look at how they are
run, are they efficient and do we get the results we thought we would get," she
told Bernama here Tuesday.

She said if the results were not up to the EU's expectations it would
re-adjust the programmes during the last three years to make sure it got the
results it wanted.

Malaysia is signatory to the 1980 Cooperation Agreement between the European
Community and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean).

The agreement covers trade, economic cooperation and development as a basis
for institutionalised dialogue.

On 9 July 2003, the European Commission adopted a Communication on "New
Partnership with South-East Asia", setting out a comprehensive strategy for
future EU relations with the region.

The strategic priorities include supporting regional stability and the fight
against terrorism, promoting human rights, democratic principles and good
governance, mainstreaming justice and home affairs issues.

Hohmann said the EU has always regarded Asean and Malaysia, in particular,
as important partners in the area of trade.

"We have already made enormous progress in that area and Malaysia is our
second largest exporting trade partner in Asean," she said.
-- BERNAMA