Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on 'Creating a new dynamic in EU-Asean relations` (97/C 89/11)

On 19 December 1996 the Economic and Social Committee, acting under rule 23(3) of its Rules of Procedure, decided to draw up an additional opinion on 'Creating a new dynamic in EU-Asean relations`.

The Section for External Relations, Trade and Development Policy, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 17 January 1997. The rapporteur was Mr Pezzini.

At its 342nd Plenary Session (meeting of 30 January 1997), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 38 votes to one, with one abstention.

1. The Commission communication returns to a topic considered in a 1994 communication (), and has the ambitious objective of injecting a new dynamic into relations between the EU and Asean (). Before considering the content of the Commission document, the Committee would commend DG I's Asia Directorate for its responsiveness in requesting an opinion on a matter with many complex aspects which impinge directly on its own role and sphere of action. Although the first agreement between the two regional groupings was signed in 1980, no major progress was made in relations until the early 1990s. The development of the Asean economies had led to some expansion in trade relations, but political dialogue and inter-institutional cooperation did not grow significantly.

2. Since 1994, the interest shown by both sides has increased and a welter of initiatives has sought to bring the EU and the south east Asian nations closer together. The reason is not difficult to identify. The shift in the balance of world power since the end of the cold war has led each geo-economic region to seek out alliances and markets that will enable it to meet the challenge of globalization. As part of this ongoing restructuring of the world economy, the EU - true to its outward-looking regional approach - must seek alliances and potential partners in groupings which attribute significant importance to economic integration, and with which it already has well-established relations. Asean, like Mercosur in Latin America, is one such grouping.

3. The EU is also the Asean countries' second most important trade and direct investment partner, coming behind Japan but ahead of the United States. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for 56 % of world production and 46 % of world trade. Given the US's interest in the region, and its propensity to conclude association and cooperation agreements there, the EU must defend and strengthen the position which it has acquired and see that it is not shut out by the region. This explains the communication's objective in mapping out a new model for EU-Asean relations.

4. As the communication rightly notes, the 1980 agreement with Asean has remained static because it did not contain a common plan. In addition to economic and social issues, the cultural aspect is gaining increasing importance and providing a vehicle for closer ties between both sides. It is known that the two groupings do not always see eye to eye on political and cultural issues such as respect for human rights, freedoms, democracy and minorities, and legal certainty, and that this prevents relations from finding common ground on which to base a common plan. This is the aspect which the communication fails to address properly, and which needs further attention.

5. The 11th AEMM () meeting in Karlsruhe in September 1994 welcomed the content of the earlier communication and, with a view to pinpointing practical ways of launching a new strategy for relations with Asean, decided to set up an eminent persons group (EPG) which was to propose concrete measures for developing cultural dialogue and economic relations between the EU and Asean. The group completed its work in June 1996, and the Commission has taken account of it in the new communication.

6. Both sides have called for a detailed consideration of the cultural aspects, and the forum on 'Culture, values and technology - instruments for promoting mutual understanding`, held in Venice in January 1996, provided an important platform for this. The workshops confirmed that there can be no significant development of economic relations until cultural exchanges between universities, researchers and persons of culture are stepped up and networks of relations are established between young people and the various strands of civil society. In short, mutual understanding and respect for traditions and customs are essential for further fruitful relations.

7. No common plan will be feasible until this network of relations is set up. The role of free socio-economic organizations will become increasingly important; through their dialogue and the experience which they have built up, they are able to bring together political and economic issues. Here the Committee would reiterate its readiness to hold a constructive exchange of experience with its Asean counterparts. As Renato Ruggiero, director of the WTO, stressed at the 1996 Singapore conference, 'structural adjustments` are not isolated events, but also (as demonstrated by recent events in Korea) affect the countries of south-east Asia. As production and labour become ever more stable, there is a growing need for a variety of economic agents (employers' organizations, trade unions, professional bodies, etc.) capable of determining and managing the appropriate levels of flexibility. These considerations should lead the Commission to take greater advantage of the experience of the Committee and the bodies it represents, particularly in this serious attempt to come closer to the complex reality of Asia. Such steps could help make the world market a major factor for freedom and greater economic and social justice.

8. It is no secret that inadequate respect for human rights and the still unresolved problem of East Timor have been instrumental in preventing the EU from reaching the new and wider third-generation agreements which it would like. Some progress seems to have been made during the last year on East Timor, and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Reverend Ximenes Bello and Ramos Horta has contributed to this. The time might be right for the EU's Troika to hold a constructive dialogue with the Asean nations and Indonesia and hence contribute to a negotiated solution based on the most recent UN resolutions. At all events, the UN is the only body deputed to conduct and, if all goes well, to conclude negotiations. In the human rights field too, account must be taken of Asean's accession to the declaration of the UN's Vienna conference on human rights (1993), the Copenhagen conference on social rights (1995), and the Beijing conference on women's rights (1995). Further reciprocal commitments are needed to ensure more effective application of the values championed by these important conferences. In particular, more experience-swapping and exchanges of views are needed in the field of labour-market organization, equal opportunities, other basic workers' rights, protection of minors (cf. ILO Convention 138 on minimum age for admission to employment), and the mutual interest which binds workers and employers if their respective rights are safeguarded. Robust measures should also be agreed for combating sex tourism that involves children.

The continuing serious violations of basic human rights in Myanmar (formerly Burma) - a country which is scheduled to join Asean within the next few years - are a further problem. The Committee therefore considers that both parties (EU and Asean) need to strengthen cultural values and social and legal mechanisms which are barriers to the use of child labour, and stamp out the scourge of child abuse. A culture of respect for young people and their right to be educated as people and as members of society will only develop in societies where socio-occupational bodies are active and engaged in constructive dialogue, since on basic educational issues they strive to reach a position that is as close as possible to what could be termed 'the common good`.

9. More stress should be laid on the fact that the spread of small businesses is beneficial not only economically, but also in disseminating know-how and participation and thus in furthering the cultural growth of society and the affirmation of democratic values. Consultation - in other words, responsible involvement of the social partners in the search for possible solutions - is also a powerful instrument for social cohesion and participation, and for a more mature democracy. The Asean countries, whose culture is based on community spirit, could be more receptive on this point, while the EU could be ready to embrace the community values which underpin their society.

10. The EU has already shown its readiness to help Asean's efforts to guide new members with centrally planned economies such as Vietnam and, in the near future, Laos and Cambodia, towards a market economy, and to achieve economic balance, given the very different development levels of the countries seeking accession. The new EU-Asean dynamic will have to take due account of environmental protection, with priority for the installation of appropriate technologies to reduce urban and industrial pollution and protect ecosystems and biodiversity. The introduction of appropriate technologies for reducing environmental damage merits special priority here.

11. In the light of the above, and of the comprehensive economic picture emerging from the wealth of data provided by the Commission, the Committee feels able to approve the proposed option 2. This means an active partnership, based on a declaration and action plan signed by the EU and its Member States and the Asean Member States. As the Commission says, this formula affords flexibility while also allowing precise focusing on the domains and sectors in which urgent action is required. An equal partnership will allow the development of economic cooperation and the promotion of respective regional markets, trade and investment, and will help to identify and eliminate the obstacles in each of these fields, as well as creating a solid basis for discussion of human rights problems in a climate of mutual respect.

The Committee urges the Commission to involve the private sector more closely in planning, and to involve employers' and trade-union organizations in the work of the various committees. As well as the 'business dialogue`, the Committee would recommend stepping up and rationalizing the meetings of the AEMM (EU and Asean foreign ministers), SOM (senior EU and Asean officials), and, in particular, the EU-Asean joint cooperation committee, sub-committees and informal working parties. The private sector and employers' and trade-union organizations could find a representative niche within these structures and inject new life into them.

Brussels, 30 January 1997.

The President of the Economic and Social Committee

Tom JENKINS

() Towards a new Asia strategy (COM(94) 314 final of 13. 7. 1994).

() Association of South-East Asian Nations, comprising Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

() Asean-EU Ministerial meeting: this is the highest level of institutional dialogue. The two-yearly meetings are attended by Foreign Ministers, and focus on political, economic and cooperation issues. The last meeting was held in Karlsruhe in September 1994, and the next will be in February 1997.