ASEAN and the EU: 25 years of partnership for peace

ASEAN and the EU: 25 years of partnership for peace

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Jakarta

This week the EU is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of our
Co-operation Agreement signed with Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Since 1980, Southeast Asia
has undergone profound and positive transformation. Poverty has
been reduced at an unprecedented pace, economies enjoy impressive
growth rates, and democracy is gaining ground. Similarly, the
European Union has also undergone important changes and while
ASEAN has expanded to include Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and
Vietnam, the EU has undertaken its own Enlargement, growing to 25
countries. We have also adopted the world's first ever single
currency and emerged as a political entity on the world scene.

It is hardly surprising that the EU and ASEAN have developed
such a warm and deep relationship: We share many common traits --
particularly our linguistic and cultural diversity. Like the EU,
ASEAN has economic weight, and is playing an increasingly
important role on the international stage. Our two regional
organizations share the goal of ensuring peace and stability.

The EU is ASEAN's second largest export market and the third
largest trading partner after the United States and Japan. We
want to harness further trading opportunities and build growth
and prosperity to the mutual benefit of both regions which is why
my colleague, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, helped
establish an EU-ASEAN "vision group" in the spring of this year,
to explore the potential for a Free Trade Agreement between the
EU and ASEAN. Pending this group's conclusions, we will decide on
how to take this very important initiative forward in early 2006.

However, our relationship is not simply a political or
economic arrangement: It has an important human dimension. Last
year's tragic Tsunami served to demonstrate an instinctive
feeling of solidarity between our peoples. In the aftermath of
this catastrophe, we co operated effectively to bring
humanitarian aid where it was needed, with the first help already
on its way from Europe just hours after the Tsunami struck. We
continue to work together to reconstruct the devastated areas. So
far the EU has promised 1.5 billion euro for rehabilitation and
reconstruction and the money is being made available very
rapidly.

In the conflict torn region of Aceh, the increase in national
solidarity after the Tsunami, opened a window of opportunity for
peace. The EU helped provide funding and support for President
Ahtisaari's mediation between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and
the Government of Indonesia. Immediately after the signature of
the peace agreement, an unprecedented joint mission between EU
Member States and ASEAN was launched to monitor the peace. This
mission is supported by a number of assistance programs
contributed by the European Commission, including support for the
reintegration of GAM combatants. Altogether, this package is
proving to be a remarkable success.

The joint EU-ASEAN Monitoring Mission has shown that Europe
and Southeast Asia can successfully cooperate in building peace
even in the most sensitive of circumstances. It shows how much
scope there is to broaden our co operation in the future.

From human rights to climate change, the environment, human
trafficking, and the trade in illegal drugs -- there is a great
deal more we can do together.

Naturally the EU supports ASEAN's efforts towards greater
regional cooperation. The European case demonstrates that greater
integration is the best guarantee of stability and prosperity. We
await with keen interest the outcome of the next ASEAN summit in
Kuala Lumpur and especially the announcement of an ASEAN Charter
reinforcing its common institutions and decision making process.
We applaud these steps forward and as always stand ready to share
our own experience with ASEAN in the field of integration.

In today's globalised world there is untold value in deepening
links no matter how far geographically we may lie apart. What
better way to celebrate our 25th anniversary this week than to
reflect on how much "closer" we have become through working
together politically, economically and socially, and at the same
time look forward to an even stronger partnership in the years to
come.

The writer is European Commissioner for External Relations and
European Neighborhood Policy.