EU's enlargement will not affect relations with Indonesia

EU's enlargement will not affect relations with Indonesia

Veeramalla Anjaiah, Jakarta

The members -- both old and new -- of the European Union (EU)
said on Monday that the forthcoming enlargement of the union
would not have any adverse effects on Indonesia, and expressed
their commitment to maintaining the existing cordial relations
with the world's most populous Muslim nation.

"There is nothing to fear for Indonesia from the bigger EU. We
(the new members) are not competing with Indonesia for foreign
direct investment (FDI), and the orientation of investors is
different in Asia and Central Europe," Hungarian Ambassador to
Indonesia Gyorgy Busztin said during a press conference in
Jakarta.

Czech Ambassador to Indonesia Jaroslav Vesely, whose country's
bilateral trade with Indonesia jumped in value to $135.9 million
in 2003 from a mere $56 million in 1997, said his country along
with the other new members would adopt a joint commercial policy
after May toward Indonesia that would not weaken their foreign
trade ties with the country.

While supporting the views of his colleagues from Hungary and
the Czech Republic, Slovakian Ambassador Peter Holasek said
enlargement would certainly benefit his country as well as
Indonesia.

On May 1, 10 countries -- five Central European countries
(Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia),
three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) and the two
Mediterranean island nations of Cyprus and Malta -- will join
Europe's most powerful and prosperous grouping, the EU.

Indonesia, which has close relations with several Central and
Eastern European states, considers however that the EU's
enlargement on May 1 will have an impact on its existing
traditional ties with the countries involved.

Several prospective EU members have already submitted requests
to Indonesia for revisions of their existing bilateral trade
agreements in order to comply with EU standards.

"Yes, we have asked for the revision of our bilateral trade
agreements with Indonesia," said Polish Ambassador to Indonesia
Krzysztof Szumski, whose country imported US$266 million worth of
goods from Indonesia in 2003.

But Szumski insisted his country's excellent ties with
Indonesia, which received a big boost from the recent visit of
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski to Indonesia, would not
be affected by the enlargement in any way.

While commenting on the fears of Jakarta that the new EU
members could become competitors for Indonesia as regards trade
and investment, Ambassador Busztin said investors come to
Indonesia with an eye on cheap labor, raw materials and the Asian
market. But in the case of Central Europe, they were interested
in tapping highly educated human resources and the prosperous
European market.

The press conference was organized by the Royal Embassy of the
Netherlands (which is representing the EU presidency in
Indonesia), the embassies of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland
and Slovakia and the Delegation of the European Commission -- the
executive arm of the EU -- in connection with the enlargement of
the EU.

In his opening remarks, the head of the EU Delegation in
Jakarta, Ambassador Sabato Della Monica, said the enlargement
would be to the net benefit of the 15-member EU and of it's
traditional trading partners, including Indonesia.

"Fears of a new fortress Europe are groundless. Traditional
trade relations may need to adjust. But invariably, new business
opportunities will arise, also for Indonesian exporters," Della
Monica said.

"In fact, after May 1, the EU's external tariffs will be only
4 percent, where as the prospective members are at present
imposing 9 percent external tariffs on foreign goods," Della
Monica said.

While welcoming the new members into the world's richest
regional grouping, the Dutch Ambassador Ruud Treffers -- who
represents the current European Union president, Ireland, in
Indonesia -- said the 25-member EU would face a number of
challenges in achieving common perceptions among the members, who
are so divided in terms of culture, religion, language, ethnicity
and political thinking.