ASEAN at 45 - Regional hopes, global clout

ASEAN has a new spring in its step. Growth rates are high, plans for ASEAN economic integration are picking up momentum and the organisation is in the driver’s seat of an array of free trade and regional integration initiatives spanning the region. ASEAN’s 10 member nations are committed to an ambitious plan to create an integrated economic community by 2015, a move which opens up new opportunities for European exporters and investors. How open are ASEAN governments to European business? What is the impact of ASEAN’s various regional initiatives on trade and economic relations with Europe?What is driving ASEAN’s new regional integration agenda? How can ASEAN resolve its internal problems, including the under-staffing and under-funding of the ASEAN Secretariat? Are the organisation’s many plans and projects realistic? Is ASEAN members’ non-interference policy compatible with meeting 21st Century challenges?

ASEAN is the focus of increased attention, both from its immediate neighbours and on the global stage. Gatherings such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit draw leaders and senior officials from across the world. The country is being courted by the US, China, India, Australia and Japan as well as the EU. The EU and ASEAN have been close partners for 35 years. How does the EU-ASEAN relationship compare with ASEAN’s economic and diplomatic ties with other global players? Is ASEAN ready to give the EU a seat at the East Asia Summit? Now that countries are reopening contacts with Myanmar, will the EU and ASEAN retry to forge a free trade agreement? What are the areas, including disaster-preparedness, where the EU and ASEAN can step up their engagement? How will the EU and ASEAN like their relationship to evolve in the coming years?