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.