Europe and the Asian Century

The need for a stronger strategic relationship between the European Union (EU) and Asia was the subject of lively debate at a Friends of Europe high-level policy summit in Brussels on 21 June 2011. Although the economic relationship between the EU and Asia is buoyant, dynamic and firmly established, participants highlighted the importance of fostering deeper political cooperation, with both sides sharing valuable experience in areas like human security and climate change. Giles Merritt, Friends of Europe Secretary-General, introduced the day’s debate by arguing that the EU needed to become more closely involved in Asia, saying Europe is “pressed to the windowpane to the East, looking in but not inside”. The aim is to develop stronger partnerships, he said.

Shada Islam, head of Friends of Europe’s newly-launched Asia Programme said that sustained Europe-Asia cooperation was “critical in tackling the key global challenges of the 21^st Century”.  The EU and Asia had to set out a new agenda for future cooperation, she said.

Europe and Asia are important trading partners, together accounting for half of the globe’s GDP and over 60 per cent of international trade. The EU is negotiating a host of bilateral FTAs with Asian countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and India.  The EU-South Korea FTA enters into force on 1 July 2011 and just recently the EU and Japan agreed to start a “scoping exercise” on a bilateral FTA.

Several of the day’s speakers underlined the importance of these trade links, particularly in the face of the economic crisis which swept the globe in 2008-2009.  The global economic slowdown showed the resilience of many Asian economies which have managed to maintain high growth rates despite the downturn, overtaking the performance of many European states.  “Asia was the locomotive that drove us out of trouble,” according to Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for international cooperation, humanitarian aid and crisis response, who delivered the keynote address.

The Commissioner, however, warned Asian countries against pursuing economic growth at all costs, arguing that one of the key challenges the region faces is how to mitigate environmental degradation. “Studies have shown that the ‘grow first, clean up later’ theory is wrong,” she noted. “Population growth, the expansion of economic activities and urbanisation mean we have to much more aggressively deal with the issue of environmental sustainability.” The need to mitigate and adapt to climate change is one of today’s most pressing global challenges, she added.  The Commissioner called on the EU to support Asia in preparing for and dealing with natural disasters. “We have the means to deal with the problems of the future. The question is whether we can muster the political will required to face these challenges,” she said.

Participants voiced a willingness to see Europe transform its economic muscle into political clout, with many arguing that Europe needed to deal with the growing perception that it was an “economic giant but a political dwarf” in Asia. Commissioner Georgieva asked Asian countries to give Europe a seat at the East Asia Summit, Asia’s leading security forum.  Asian panellists argued, however, that despite the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the creation of a European External Action Service, the EU is still unable to “speak with one voice”.  Europe would have to work much harder to boost its credentials in Asia, they said.

As regards Asian security, the audience heard that the EU’s soft power – so called hearts and minds diplomacy – is overshadowed by the military hard power of the United States.  Discussions focused on cooperation among Asian countries and the EU’s anti-piracy naval operation off the coast of Somalia, the situation in Afghanistan and the increasingly volatile political landscape in Pakistan.  India-Pakistan relations were discussed.

Drawing the discussions to a close, Giles Merritt argued that Asia is a “test bench” on which EU foreign policy should be constructed. “The elements we talked about related to security are very much in Europe’s interests, and we must really try to make something of the External Action Service”, he argued. “We now have the embryo of a foreign ministry, but we are a long way from having a foreign policy.”