EC To Undertake Feasibility Study On FTA With ASEAN Countries

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

04 May 2005

Delivering a keynote speech to the World Economic Forum's Asia roundtable in Singapore on Friday, the EU's Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson revealed that the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to set up a “vision group” to assess the feasibility of an EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.

Urging EU members to see “the renaissance of Asia” not as a threat but an opportunity and a stimulus for European competitiveness, Mandelson argued that as the world’s leading exporter and investor abroad, Europe needs “more confidence about its potential and its ability to manage change and remain competitive," and suggested that "Asia and its growth is a means of sustaining this performance, not reversing it”.

He went on to stress that bilateral links with Asia should not be an alternative to the EU’s priority of multilateral trade opening, but observed that closer regional ties could further deepen co-operation.

According to EC figures, today four of Europe’s top ten trading partners are in Asia, these being China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Imports to the EU from ASEAN countries are reported to be growing by 10% per year.

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