ASEAN and EU agree on meeting

ASEAN and EU agree on meeting

BANGKOK (AP): A meeting between senior officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union, postponed several times because of disagreements over whether Myanmar should attend, will be held in late May, EU representatives in Thailand said on Wednesday.

The 13th meeting of the ASEAN-EU Joint Cooperation Committee had most recently been scheduled for Bangkok in late January. But it was postponed at the last minute when the two groupings could not agree on conditions under which Myanmar could attend.

Behind the dispute is the EU's disapproval of Myanmar's military regime. The EU has imposed diplomatic sanctions on Myanmar because of its government's poor human rights record and refusal to hand over power to a democratically elected government.

The two sides have now agreed to hold the long-delayed meeting in Bangkok on May 26-28 with Myanmar sitting in, German ambassador to Thailand Hermann Erath said at a news conference to discuss EU affairs. Germany currently holds the presidency of the EU. Myanmar will be allowed to attend the meeting but not to speak.