EU TO FOCUS ON COLLABORATIONS WITH ASEAN TO FACE GLOBAL CHALLENGES

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 (Bernama) -- Efforts to enhance ties with
Asean and European Union (EU) will focus on collaborations with the 10-member
regional grouping in facing global challenges ahead, says Javier Solana, the EU
High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy.

The EU is now Asean's largest trading partner, he said.

"Asean is EU's leading foreign direct investment destination in Asia but
trade and investment are only one part of the picture.

"For example, we are both major players in the international financial
system and Asean is a growing destination for European tourism," he said
at the opening session of the Asean Post-Ministerial Conference with EU.

The text of his speech was e-mailed to Bernama.

"This is why EU and Asean should advance negotiations of the Partnership and
Cooperation Agreements as quickly as possible.

"I therefore welcome the recent initialling of the Partnership and
Cooperation Agreement by Indonesia. I am looking forward to see other Asean
members following suit soon.

"I hope we will be able to find effective ways to advance the Free Trade
Agreement negotiations," he said.

The EU Foreign Policy chief said both Asean and EU have come a long and
constructive way in the past decades but there are still enormous opportunities
for improvement.

"Asean and EU are leading by example: closer cooperation among
nations is the only way forward in a globalised world. Asean and EU are
committed to this principle but they are also depending on each other to
succeed. We need everybody to achieve this success," he said.

Solana also reiterated support to the Asean community-building process and
welcomed decisions taken at the Asean ministerial meeting.

On behalf of the European Union, he said: "Let me express how impressed we
are with the enormous progress Asean has achieved since my last meeting with
you.

"You have adopted the Asean Charter, now fully in force. With this, Asean
now has a legal personality. We are pleased with the progress made in its
implementation, giving another boost to the Asean Community building process.

"These efforts are not happening out of the blue.

"They testify the remarkable determination of Asean to strengthen itself
from within. We sincerely support Asean's determination to live in peace,
security and prosperity.

"This is also one of the reasons for EU's active presence in South East
Asia. We also support Asean Community building process to better address common
challenges," he said.

Solana said the financial and economic crisis are in full swing,
consequences of
climate change are more pertinent today than ever in the past.

"Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, here I would
like to express my solidarity with Indonesia. Food and energy security are
issues which call for a united front also between EU and Asean.

"As we did in Aceh, we should continue to use our joint strength to bring
peace and stability also to other parts of the world in need such as
Afghanistan from where I have just returned," he said.

Solana said EU-Asean partnership is underpinned by their commitment to
shared values.

He said the Asean Charter rested firmly on the principles of democracy, rule
of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedom.


Touching on human rights, he said: "We encourage you to use all efforts to
protect human rights in this region, in particular through the Asean Human
Rights Commission, which you have just agreed to create.

"This is indeed a milestone and a crucial development in Asean's key role as
a serious international player and a provider of stability. We stand ready to
offer our own long experience in this field," he said.

Solana said EU supports the integration processes in South East Asia as a
contribution to enhancing security and stability.

"We hope Asean will remain at the centre of the "evolving regional
architecture" in East Asia. We should be certain of our support to this end,
both in all the regional dialogue processes in which we participate now, and
in future. I am specifically referring to the East Asia Summit," he said.

Solana said he was pleased that in recognition of the EU's involvement
in the region through Asean.

"We made an important step forward in the direction of accession by the EU
to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. We hope to be able to finalise it as
soon as possible," he added.

-- BERNAMA