| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 27.9.02 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 27/09/2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The European's relationship with Asia was further cemented in Copenhagen from 23-24 September 2002 at the fourth annual Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM) of heads of government and representatives from the EU institutions. The international situation following the attacks on the United States in 2001, regional economic and financial priorities in the context of the global economic situation, and human resource development and educational exchange were the three items at the top of the agenda. The increasing breadth of issues discussed by the two groups reflects the transformation of the relationship in recent years from one of 'aid and trade' to a more balanced and equal partnership. Speaking at the outset of the conference, the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh said:
Background Relations between the European Union and Asia were first formalised in 1978 when a cooperation agreement was signed between the European Community and the Association of South East Asian nations (ASEAN). This organisation had been established eleven years earlier by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand with the aim of accelerating the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and promoting regional peace and stability. The cooperation agreement led to regular meetings between the foreign ministers from both parties although from 1997 to 2000 the political dialogue between the EU and ASEAN was suspended because of the poor human rights record of Burma/Myanmar which joined ASEAN in 1997. The EU-ASEAN relationship was further broadened and intensified by the establishment of Asia-Europe summit meeting, the first of which took place in Bangkok in 1996. The Asia-Europe ministerial meeting, ASEM as it is widely known, has become the most active multilateral forum between the EU and Asia. It is organised around three pillars - political dialogue, economic cooperation, and cooperation in the social and economic field - with summit-level meetings every second year, ministerial-level meetings in the intervening years (although now normally once a year) plus a range of meetings and activities at the working level. ASEM I, which took place in the aftermath of the EU's adoption of its new strategy towards Asia [COM(1994)314] and in the mist of an Asian economy boom, focussed on establishing a political dialogue between the two parties and strengthening economic co-operation. ASEM II followed in London in 1998 where the main achievement was the establishment of an ASEM Trust fund at the World Bank with the aim of helping to finance technical assistance and advice both on restructuring the financial sector and addressing the challenges of poverty. In October 2000 the third ASEM summit took place in Seoul with the emphasis on the future of the ASEM process at the start of the 21st century. The outcome was a Asia-Europe Cooperation Framework, otherwise known as the ASEM charter, which brought together the plans for 16 joint cooperation projects aimed at raising the level of educational, cultural and intellectual exchanges. The Charter also states that democracy, human rights and the rule of law are the ultimate visions of the ASEM process with intensified high level political dialogue broadening out to cover topics such as crime, 'human trafficking' and the illegal arms and drugs trade. Economic cooperation will be strengthened in the high tech areas such as e-commerce, energy and environmental engineering while university cooperation and electronic networking between schools will be used as a tool for improving cultural and social relations. The Charter also provides guidelines on the admission of new members with some 20 countries seeking membership. ASEM IV In 2002, the ASEM summit moved back to European shores, taking place in Copenhagen from 23-24 September because Denmark is the current holder of the Presidency of the European Union. Following on from Seoul's efforts to move the ASEM process into the 21st Century, the European Commission prepared a Commission staff working paper [SEC(2002)874] in July 2002 that summed up the key international events since ASEM III and assessed their impact on the EU-Asia relationship. This coupled with an earlier non-paper by European ASEM partners on key topical issues provided the basis of an agenda for ASEM IV , which focused on a number of broader political issues, specifically:
Delivering an opening speech at the summit President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, summed up the overall tone of the meeting saying:
One of the most significant outcomes of the summit was the agreement between the two sides to cooperate their fight against international terrorism but under the guiding principles of the UN charter and based on the leading role of the UN itself. This took the form of two declarations annexed to the chairman's statement - the ASEM Copenhagen Declaration on Cooperation against International Terrorism and the ASEM Copenhagen Cooperation Programme on Fighting International Terrorism. Leaders also supported the idea of holding an ASEM Seminar on Anti-terrorism. A discussion of the causes of the September 11 events also led the leaders to examine ways in which the ASEM process could help to foster better relations between peoples of various cultures and from different civilisations. For these reasons, leaders held for the first time a retreat session under the heading 'Dialogue on Cultures and Civilisations', which was conducted on the basis of respect for the equal dignity of all civilisations and the conviction that cultural diversity is an asset. Leaders emphasised the importance of education, and equal access to information as means of bridging cultural differences and agreed to develop further the dialogue on cultures and civilisations at all levels of ASEM cooperation, and endorsed a follow-up ASEM Conference on Cultures and Civilizations at the political level. Ministers were also requested to collaborate in organising the first ever 'ASEM Youth Games' which aims to foster further people-to-people contacts and raise mutual awareness and understanding between the two regions. In further cultural developments, leaders welcomed a proposal to organise a meeting in the framework of ASEM in Athens in connection with the ARTIADE ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games of the Visual Arts and another proposal to establish a connection between the annual European Capitals of Culture and Asian counterparts. In another declaration annexed to the chairman's statement, leaders confirmed their support for the peace process aimed at reconciling the two republics of Korea. In this respect, the summit representatives welcomed the recent progress on realising a number of projects for inter-Korean cooperation and noted that a peaceful settlement on the Korean peninsula could eventually lead to a Trans-Eurasian railway (the 'Iron Silk Road'), which would further improve region-to-region exchanges. Other international issues discussed included the Iraq issue and the situation in the Middle East. In the field of economic partnership, leaders discussed way of recovering from the economic shocks caused by September 11 and confirmed their commitment to enhance economic relations between the two regions, thereby contributing to achieving sustainable growth in the world economy. They also expressed their commitment to the WTO work programme launched at Doha and underlined that the development dimension and the needs of the developing countries should continue to be a central component. The support expressed at the fourth ASEM Economic Ministers' Meeting regarding the acceleration of Vietnam's WTO accession was also reinforced. In order to further deepen the ASEM economic partnership leaders tasked ASEM Coordinators to set up an action-oriented Taskforce which should consider three specific areas: trade, investment and finance. These areas could include issues such as creation of a Eurobond market in Asia and use of the Euro as an international currency. The Taskforce should consist of five experts from each of the two regions. An interim report should be presented to Foreign, Economic and Finance Ministers in 2003, with a view to submitting a final report to ASEM 5. In the social and cultural fields leaders welcomed the broadening of the ASEM-DUO Fellowship Programme and encouraged the expansion of educational exchange among ASEM partners by building on this and other such initiatives. An initiative on Asia-Europe Cooperation in Promoting Awareness in the Young Generation of the Drug Problem was also supported. Co-operation on environmental matters was considered to be of utmost importance ahead with leaders stressing the need for further action within the framework of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol ahead of the next ASEM Environment Ministers' Meeting in 2003. Overall, the summit reflected the changing nature of the relationship with a breadth of issues now on the agenda. Furthermore leaders agreed that the fight against international terrorism and transnational organised crime, closer economic partnership, cooperation in the social, educational and environmental fields as well as dialogue on cultures and civilizations are among the foremost priorities of the ASEM process in 2002-2004. The next ASEM summit is due to take place in Hanoi, Vietnam in the latter half of 2004. Further information within European Sources Online:
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions
International Organisations National Organisations Denmark: Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Miscellaneous Organisations Heinrich Boll Foundation: Asia-Europe Dialogue (ASED) on alternative political strategies Asia House Essen: Centre for Information and Dialogue
Europe's Forum on International Cooperation News Organisations BBC News Online
Further and subsequent information on the subject of this In Focus can be found by an 'Advanced Search' in European Sources Online by inserting 'Asia' in the keyword field. Helen Bower Commentary on relations between the European Union and Asian countries through the ASEM process. |
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| Countries / Regions | Asia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
