Has ASEM’s time come?

The leaders of 38 Asian and European countries will meet in Helsinki on 10-11 September for the sixth biennial of the ASEM (Asia-Europe) summit.

As well as discussing the business of the day - trade, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and nuclear proliferation - the Helsinki meeting will be something of a birthday-bash.

Ten years ago the EU began talking with south-east Asian countries, plus China, Japan and South Korea, as a group.

European diplomats hoped that by dealing with the region en masse, the EU could strengthen the weaker side of the EU-US-Asia ‘triangle’, a triangle which some believed could be a basis for post-Cold War global governance.

But as leaders prepare to meet and reflect on the last ten years of ASEM, an unwelcome birthday card has arrived at the door.

A report commissioned by the Japanese and Finnish foreign ministries, which will form a basis for discussion in Helsinki, has laid bare the relationship.

The report’s authors conclude candidly that "the dialogue while broad has not been deep" and that ASEM "has not entirely lived up to the initial expectations".

As for enhancing the EU’s position in the EU-US-Asia triumvirate, they conclude that "ASEM has not been able to enhance the balance of power in the triangle remarkably", hardly a ringing endorsement.

The reports’ authors warn that ASEM may have to make some tough decisions in order to make sure participants do not succumb to "forum fatigue" and lose interest in ASEM altogether. They say that all 38 countries now need to focus on concrete results.

According to Sebastian Bersick, who was involved in the development of the text and is a senior researcher at the European Institute for Asian Studies, the informality of ASEM meetings may make achieving concrete results difficult, but it does produce other benefits.

"Without the principle of informality there would be no ASEM process at all," he says. According to Bersick it is this informality that helped the EU coax China into ASEM and towards developing closer ties with its neighbours. The creation, in 2005, of an annual east Asian summit is seen as evidence of this burgeoning process of regional integration.

Bersick and other ASEM supporters argue that while the problems between China and Japan, or between the EU and Asia, may not have dissolved because of ASEM, the forum is a step towards their solution.

The challenge now for the EU is to harness that regional integration to rally support for its own methods of managing global problems like energy security, world trade or global warming.

But the dialogue is not without its critics.

The EU’s decision to invite members of Myanmar’s ruling military junta to Helsinki, albeit at foreign minister level (see page 22), has renewed calls from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for more transparency in the way ASEM does business.

Shortly before leaders arrive in Helsinki more than 100 NGOs will try to drive this point home with their own Asia-Europe People’s Forum in the Finnish capital.

According to Anu Juvonen, who is involved in the preparations for the forum, there is a growing need to monitor ASEM, a group which is responsible for 60% of world trade, 50% of global economic output and 40% of the world’s population.

"The meetings are closed, there is no access for civil society when compared with business," she says.

Similarly at an ASEM parliamentary assembly in May national parliamentarians called for a bigger say in the way the EU’s relations with Asia are managed, to ensure better democratic oversight.

ASEM at a glance

What is ASEM?

ASEM refers both to the Asia-Europe Meeting of heads of government and the accompanying ministerial, business and non-governmental meetings.

Who takes part?

At a government level 38 states take part, as well as the European Commission. They include the EU’s 25 member states and the members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) plus China, South Korea and Japan.

Who does not take part?

North Korea and Russia are the most notable east Asian countries not participating. Russia has pressed to be allowed to attend, but its membership is said to be off the agenda for the moment. The diplomatic stand-off over North Korea’s nuclear programme also makes its participation unlikely. Mongolia has also expressed a willingness to take part and its request is being considered. Diplomats are also considering whether to expand the grouping to include India.

When did ASEM begin?

The idea emerged at the end of 1994 and was proposed by the government of Singapore as a way of managing international affairs after the end of the cold war. The first summit was held two years later in Bangkok, Thailand. Leaders now meet every two years.

Does ASEM have any impact?

Policymakers and academics disagree about how useful ASEM has been. Some view it as an ineffective talking-shop, while others say that it has allowed European and Asian countries to find common ground on issues affecting the international community.

The leaders of 38 Asian and European countries will meet in Helsinki on 10-11 September for the sixth biennial of the ASEM (Asia-Europe) summit.