A4-0080/95

Resolution on the communication from the Commission to the Council 'Towards a new Asia strategy' (COM(94)0314 - C4-0092/94)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council 'Towards a new Asia strategy' (COM(94)0314 - C4-0092/94)),

- having regard to the report of the Council on the Asia strategy of the European Union, adopted on 28 November 1994,

- having regard to the conclusions of the Presidency in response to the European Council meeting at Essen on 9 and 10 December 1994,

- having regard to the statements by the President of the Commission, Mr Santer, to the European Parliament on 17 January 1995,

- having regard to the European Council resolution of 29 May 1995 on a general human rights clause,

- having regard to its resolutions concerning the different Asian countries,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy and the opinions of the Committee on External Economic Relations, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Development and Cooperation (A4-0080/95),

A. whereas the Asian countries account for more than half the population of the earth, with 20% of world population in South Asia and roughly the same proportion in China,

B. whereas the economic weight of Asia as a whole is substantial and growing rapidly,

C. whereas the World Bank forecasts that by the year 2000 half the growth in the global economy will come from East and Southeast Asia alone,

D. whereas policies of economic liberalization recently introduced by most Southern Asian governments are having positive effects and the region is also experiencing a significant rate of economic growth,

E. whereas that growth has been based on government investment, the encouragement of foreign capital and, in many countries, on relatively low wages; whereas this rapid growth should now be accompanied by a steady improvement in economic and social safeguards, working conditions and environmental protection,

F. whereas the cumulative, growing economic weight of the continent will imply a heightened political role for Asia's major countries,

G. whereas, this being so, the United Nations and the other major international bodies, including regional security organizations and structures, should take greater account of Asia's growing might,

H. whereas the European Union should be concerned to develop Asia's enhanced role by means of better Asian representation in international fora, deeper political dialogue and increased support for regional cooperation bodies; whereas these policies and initiatives should fall within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy,

I. whereas the military strength of many Asian countries is growing and there is potential for serious conflicts in the region,

J. whereas, this being so, political dialogue with the Asian countries should cover such issues as arms trafficking and the arms trade, the extension of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, in particular towards a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty, and the production and stockpiling of chemical and biological weapons, and the fight against international crime, drug production, and drug trafficking,

K. whereas it is in the interests of the European Union and of the Asian nations to strengthen both their economic and political ties, particularly through increased trade and investment,

L. whereas, while it may be useful to consider Asia as a whole or to divide it into three groups of countries (East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia) as the Commission has done in its communication, it must be remembered that there are very significant differences between these countries - geographical, political, cultural and economic differences - and that although some of them are prosperous and some are on the road to prosperity, others are poor and many of them have standards of living among the lowest in the world,

M. whereas, with this in mind, it is important that the European Union make greater efforts in development cooperation and that it coordinate its aid policies with those of the more developed countries in the region itself,

N. whereas the Asian countries stand to gain as much as the European Union from joint efforts to improve democratic freedoms, human, minority and social rights and health regulations, to protect the environment especially in tropical forests and to respect women's rights, combatting trafficking in women and children, and not forgetting the problems of population movement and refugees and the need to cooperate in combating crime and terrorism, including drug trafficking,

O. whereas, if cooperation is to be reinforced effectively, special efforts will be needed to changes attitudes, eliminate misunderstandings and see that relations are based on equality and mutual respect for one another's values and culture, as well as on universally recognized values,

1. Welcomes the communication from the Commission to the Council and emphasizes the necessity for the European Union to accord Asia a higher priority, but stresses that this can only be regarded as a first step and that this initial framework must be supported by more intense and differentiated strategies for the various parts of Asia;

2. Advocates a change in attitudes towards Asia, based on realization of the need for a mutually respectful partnership with the Asian countries;

3. Recommends that more information about Asia be made available and that Europe's image in Asia be enhanced, and calls on the Commission to introduce a programme to this end;

4. Calls on the Commission to make provision, in forthcoming preliminary draft budgets, for the budget items which this policy will necessitate, ensuring an appropriate balance is maintained in geographical distribution of the Community's commitments;

5. Calls on the Commission to introduce training programmes in fields such as public administration and social sciences, and exchange programmes for students and teachers, and to encourage the development of in-service training;

6. Points out that this would include increased financial support for a fully- fledged EU research facility concentrating on Asia, modelled on the Institute for Europe/Latin America Relations (IRELA) and endowed with similar resources, that support for contemporary Asian studies should be increased and that support for establishing links between the existing institutions in this field should finally be introduced;

7. Advocates support for regional institutes which pursue contemporary European studies in Asia;

8. Intends to play an active role in the initiatives outlined and asks the Commission and Council to consult it regularly on all aspects of relations between Europe and Asia and to submit to it annual reports;

9. Recommends that the European Union's presence in Asia be expanded and calls on the Commission to bring forward proposals for opening new offices, accompanied by a clear and workable timetable;

10. Welcomes the Council's decision to hold a Europe-Asia summit in Thailand in the first half of 1996, but stresses that this initiative in cooperation with ASEAN must on no account lead to bias in favour of relations with the Asian countries exhibiting the greatest economic growth;

11. Calls on the European Union to initiate constructive discussions with its Asian partners on the structure and working of international organizations such as the UN and the WTO;

12. Recalls that the EC's own 1992 programme took into account the views expressed by Asian countries and hopes that, in the development of ASEAN- Pacific economic cooperation, this open attitude is reciprocated;

13. Calls on the Council, within the framework of the CFSP, to accord particular importance to security and peace issues involving Asian countries and hopes in that respect that the European Union will continue to contribute in a constructive way to cooperation and discussion on matters relating to regional security within the recently-established ASEAN Regional Forum, the aim of which it fully supports;

14. Believes that a stronger development cooperation policy with those Asian countries and regions which are at present less developed and Asia's poorest population groups will help to promote better relations by reducing inequalities;

15. Hopes that the European Union will have a higher profile as a provider of development aid from its own funds;

16. Believes that foreign and trade policy will be a function of both bilateral relations and of cooperation with regional organizations such as ASEAN, SAARC and the ECO;

17. Reasserts its conviction that agreements concluded between the European Union and third countries must take into account mutual respect for human rights and democratic principles, peace and security, sustainable development for all those involved, an improved environment, the improvement of conditions for workers, women and children, and steps in particular to reduce child labour and protect the health and well-being of children, improved public health and the fight against drugs, international organized crime, arms trafficking and terrorism;

18. Calls on the political authorities and the business community to pursue a joint strategy with the aim of asserting European trade interests more forcefully than has hitherto been the case;

19. Calls on the European Union to identify the priority areas for economic cooperation, taking into account its comparative advantages;

20. Believes that growing liberalization of trading relations with the Asian countries must go hand in hand with the gradual introduction of environmental and social standards (implementation of ILO conventions), in particular regarding the rights of association and collective bargaining, discrimination in employment and forced labour, especially where protection of child, female, and prison labour is concerned;

21. Believes that dialogue with our Asian partners must also deal with issues involving migrants and political refugees;

22. Affirms that it wants to see an intensification of links with the Asian countries, which of itself will affect the European Union's capacity to exert influence in favour of human rights, security, sustainable development and a better environment, the protection of social rights and a solution to problems of population movement;

23. Encourages the Commission to produce a work programme which pays proper attention to the different areas and economies in Asia;

24. Calls for research into the possibilities of increasing funding for closer cooperation in such fields as technology, innovation, the environment, various types of exchange of knowledge/programmes of visits, etc.;

25. Urges the European Union to raise its commercial profile in Asia;

26. Stresses the importance of improving Europe's image for trading purposes in Asia, and therefore urges the Commission to establish whether funds can be made available to assist the creation of platforms for industry, to co- finance them during the initial years and to facilitate the wider establishment of joint-research platforms;

27. Believes that the EU's emphasis should be in commercial cooperation with Asia, rather than stressing competition;

28. Believes that the regional cooperation and/or integration processes such as ASEAN or SAARC are by no means a threat to the EU's economic and trade interests in Asia, but on the contrary will contribute to the economic development of the continent; encourages therefore the further establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA); asks therefore the Commission to take into account these organisations when designing its new Asia Strategy and offer the regional organisations its full support;

29. Recognises that the inclusion of a social clause in trade agreements, a concept long supported by the European Parliament, is a potential source of misunderstanding and misinterpretation between Europe and Asia;

30. Recommends therefore that such clauses be included in trade agreements only after a thorough discussion of social issues, each party displaying respect for the other's opinions, in appropriate fora;

31. Recommends an open, honest and continuous dialogue on social clauses to find appropriate fora for a resolution of such issues which respects the interests of both parties;

32. Is of the opinion that Japan will remain the most important economic and commercial partner of the EU in Asia and asks the Commission to continue and to intensify its efforts at market opening, especially in the context of the annual ministerial meetings, the trade assessment mechanism, and the Young Executive Training Programme and to report regularly to its committee responsible for EU-Japan Relations;

33. Points out the increasing economic and political importance of the newly industrialized economies and urges them to assume their responsibilities in the international economic arena which correspond with their growing economic potential;

34. Calls for a continuous dialogue between Europe and Asia, both bilateral and within the framework of the WTO, for the purpose of securing sustainable growth and management of the economy and environmentally friendly trade and with the aim of introducing environmental clauses into the World Trade Agreement;

35. Hopes that a comprehensive cooperation agreement with the ASEAN countries may be concluded, provided that the actual political obstacles will have been overcome, which i.a. improves the conditions for direct investments of EU enterprises in these countries, and hopes that ASEAN will take a positive attitude towards incorporation of the human rights clause into such an agreement, which is standard in all more recent EU cooperation agreements with third countries;

36. Considers it desirable with a view to investment that regional agreements, such as those concluded among the ASEAN countries, should provide for a proper procedure for settling disputes, and calls on the countries concerned to make their rules on investment binding;

37. Believes that such an agreement should contain provisions on investment protections, which should become part of the EU Common Commercial Policy, given the inseparable relations between trade and investment in the process of economic globalisation;

38. Calls upon all the Asian countries with access to the open sea that have not already done so to sign and ratify the 'Law of the Sea Treaty';

39. Calls subsequently upon all the signatories of the abovementioned Treaty to implement it fully thereby enabling current or future disputes to be settled in accordance with it;

40. Calls upon every country signatory to the 1992 ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea to act accordingly, and urges every other country in general to settle any territorial differences or disputes through open and fair peaceful negotiations;

41. Recognizes the important role India has played as a leading developing country during the Uruguay negotiations and the steps taken so far by India to implement the Marrakesh commitments notably on Intellectual Property Rights, and welcomes specifically the conclusion of a bilateral agreement between the EU and India on improved market access for EU products in the textiles sector;

42. Believes that the economic and trade relations with Pakistan could be improved by the conclusion of an updated and more comprehensive cooperation agreement to replace the existing one concluded in 1986;

43. Is in favour of future Chinese membership of the WTO, provided that China is ready to respect all WTO obligations and prepared to make significant concessions in market access which take into account its economic development and reform process;

44. Supports as well the request of the Government of Taiwan to become a member of the WTO, which will be to the advantage of all other WTO members including China, and strongly recommends that the EU pays particular attention to the delicate political issue of the timing of their entry to the WTO;

45. Takes the view that the development of economic and trading relations with Indonesia will depend on promotion of democratic principles and on implementation of the UN decisions on the rights of the East Timor communities;

46. Is in favour of a quick conclusion, on the basis of the revised mandate given by Council on 25 January 1995, of a trade and cooperation agreement with Vietnam in order to support this country in its economic development which still suffers from the consequences of thirty years of war;

47. Hopes that rapid progress will be made towards the early conclusion of a trade and cooperation agreement with Nepal;

48. Is aware that the EU has at the moment no contractual relations with Iran but hopes that the necessary conditions for establishing such relations may be fulfilled in the near future;

49. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Asian ambassadors to the European Union.