ASEAN and the EU: Politico-ideological Conflict and Economic Necessities

Abstract

Relations with Europe — first with the European Community and then with the European Union — make up another important external context shaping ASEAN as a regional organization. From the point of view of security, Europe’s role has not been as relevant as the Asia-Pacific region’s, and with respect to trade, Europe has played an even less prominent part. If, however, the economic world is divided into three regions — Europe, East Asia and the Americas — rather than a bipolar two, ASEAN cannot overlook Europe’s importance. In fact, ASEAN has had important mutual and bilateral connections with its European counterpart from the middle of the 1970s. ASEAN’s first interests with the EC were economic, beginning when ASEAN, in order to maintain Southeast Asian countries’ access to the British markets, tried to secure its trade with the EC as the United Kingdom joined the Community. During the 1980s, owing to the Kampuchean issue, the political aspect of the bilateral relations became important too. At the end of 1980s and the beginning of 1990s, the economic and political aspects became inseparable. The various interests of ASEAN and the EC have been articulated at both bilateral and multilateral occasions — the GATT Uruguay round provided an important forum for the identification of the two regions’ different economic interests.