TREATY OF LISBON LENDS NEW IMPETUS FOR EU`S KEY ROLE IN GLOBAL ARENA, SAYS SWEDISH ENVOY

BY TENGKU NOOR SHAMSIAH TENGKU ABDULLAH

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- The European Union's (EU) new Treaty of
Lisbon, to take effect Tuesday, is a significant milestone for the 27-member
Union to play a key role in the world economic and political arena to further
enhance ties with global partners including Malaysia.

Swedish Ambassador to Malaysia Helena Sangeland said the 27-member EU wants
to do a lot of things to come to terms with the global economic recession and
adopt measures that would get the Union and the world economy moving.

"There is demand for the EU in various places in the world and we will
certainly be more engaged. We will be very active in peace-keeping missions and
intend to increase our engagement in peace-keeping.

"We will also try to negotiate new agreements with non-EU member states.
Malaysia is one case we hope to have Partnership and Cooperation Agreement,"
said Sangeland, whose country holds the current EU presidency, in an exclusive
interview with Bernama.

Sangeland said the EU, the executive arm of the European Commission, was
currently engaged in negotiations on diverse issues worldwide and hoped to
achieve the desired results.

Vincent Piket, European Commission (EC) Ambassador and Head of Delegation of
the EC in Malaysia, said the EU was awaiting signal from the Malaysian
Government to start negotiations on the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
(PCA) to further strengthen economic and political relations.

He said the EU had proposed to hold talks on the agreement and had prepared
and submitted a draft text to the Foreign Ministry.

"It's a free market agreement document, providing a change and direction to
the EU-Malaysia cooperation. The draft covers many areas and define the
priorities that reflect our mutual interests," he said, adding that the EU was
waiting for the Malaysian Government to consider the draft.

"We are looking forward to a positive signal soon so that we can start
negotiations and conclude the agreement," he said.

Piket said the EU felt the PCA was an important agreement to provide more
political profile to EU-Malaysia bilateral relations.

The EU had signed a PCA with Indonesia and was in the midst of concluding
one with Singapore and Thailand, both members of the 10-member Asean regional
grouping.

The Union is currently in talks with Vietnam and the Philippines while
Malaysia seems to lag behind.

On the new treaty, commonly known as the " Lisbon Treaty", Sangeland said it
would bring about more simplified decision-making for the EU.

"This will enable the EU to respond faster and in a more efficient manner to
issues at hand," she said.

The treaty also clearly identifies the duties and responsibilities mandated
on the EU and central governments on "who does what".

To ensure policy continuity, the Lisbon Treaty has a provision to create a
new post called " Permanent President of the European Council".

The first EU President will be Herman Van Rompuy, the Prime Minister of
Belgium.

The treaty also paves the way for the post of High Representative of the
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The first EU High Representative will be Ms Catherine Ashton, currently
European Commissioner for Trade.

Ashton will head the European External Action Service which is the EU's
equivalent to the foreign ministry of a sovereign country.

In Malaysia, the office name will be changed to " Delegation of the
European Union to Malaysia" from " Delegation of the European Commission to
Malaysia".

The Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia will continue to work with
embassies of EU member states in Malaysia.
-- BERNAMA