Government assures IEU-CEPA can take effect from 1 January 2027

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Susiwijono Moegiarso has assured that the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) can take effect on 1 January 2027.

The government is optimistic that the ratification process can be completed on time, allowing the agreement to be implemented promptly.

“Regarding the question from industry friends about whether IEU-CEPA will be finished in a year, we are confident it will, because the ratification agreement does not actually need to go around (the European Union parliaments). We are confident it can take effect at the beginning of 2027,” Susiwijono said at the Bisnis Indonesia Forum in Jakarta on Thursday.

For information, both IEU-CEPA agreements are currently in the ratification stage. In Indonesia, the agreement documents must obtain approval from the DPR, while in the European Union, approval from the European Parliament is required.

The process in the European Union also includes translating the documents into 24 official languages, but Susiwijono views this as merely technical.

“They have agreed that ratification is sufficient in the EU parliament. It does need to be translated into 24 languages, but that’s just technical,” he stated.

Susiwijono believes the implementation of IEU-CEPA will open up broader market access for Indonesian products while increasing competitiveness in the global market.

On the other hand, competitor countries are also said to be preparing to face the impacts of IEU-CEPA, so Indonesia needs to optimally utilise this momentum.

Susiwijono hopes that the implementation of IEU-CEPA in the future can increase optimism among industry players, particularly in the manufacturing sector, to play a greater role in driving economic growth.

“Imagine if that (IEU-CEPA) takes effect, it opens up extraordinary market access for us. We become very competitive. Conversely, for our competitor countries, they must already be anticipating it,” explained the Deputy Coordinating Minister.

The IEU-CEPA negotiations themselves have lasted nearly a decade. Official negotiations began in September 2016 in Brussels, Belgium, and have gone through 19 rounds of talks until reaching a substantial agreement in Bali in September 2025.