1. CONFERENCE ON “ONE ASEAN: A PARTNER FOR EUROPE“
2. PROGRAM
3. SPEAKING NOTES By: Ong Keng Yong, Secretary General of ASEAN
4. Remarks by Amb. Johannes Kyrle, Secretary General for Foreign Affairs, MFA Austria
5. Power Point Presentations by Mr. Dian Triansyah Djani, Director General for ASEAN Cooperation-MFA.

In celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN), the Embassies of five ASEAN Member Countries residing in Vienna (Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) in close cooperation with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna will organize a conference under the theme “One ASEAN: A Partner for Europe” on 19 July 2007. The objective of the Conference is to explore the extent to which the current process of integration and other developments in ASEAN may affect the wider regional dynamics and further, the future of its relations with the European Union.

The Secretary General of ASEAN, Ambassador Ong Keng Yong and the Secretary General for Foreign Affairs, Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, Ambassador Dr. Johannes Kyrle will deliver keynote addresses in the Conference. Other international speakers from ASEAN countries and Austria as a member of the EU will speak in two sessions which will focus on the political-security and economic relations as well as other area of cooperation between ASEAN and the European Union. ASEAN is a regional organization consisting of ten member countries in South East Asia with total population of more than 560 million people with nominal GDP US$. 1066.4 billion (2006) and speak over 1000 languages. ASEAN has strategic position politically and economically and is committed to establish a European-style single market by 2015.

The Conference will take place on 19 July 2007, from 09.30 to 15.30, at the Festsaal, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Favoritenstrasse 15a, 1040 Vienna. The Embassy cordially invites the press community to attend and to cover the Conference. Further information could be obtained from the Information Section of the Embassy of Indonesia, at telephone number (43.1) 476 2356 or 62 (during office hour), or by fax to (43-1) 479 0557.


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09.30-10.00 Opening Remarks
- Ambassador Dr. Jiří Gruša, Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
- Ambassador Truong Giang Nguyen, Ambassador of Vietnam/Dean of ASEAN Ambassadors in Vienna

10.00-11.00 Keynote Address
- Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Secretary-General of ASEAN
- Ambassador Dr. Johannes Kyrle, Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs, Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs

11.00-12.30 Session I
– “ASEAN-EU political and security relations: an assessment and the way forward”
Speakers:
- Ambassador Rosario Manalo (Philippines), Chair of ASEAN Charter Task Force
- MMag. Dr. Peter Hazdra (Austria), Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management, National Defence Academy

Moderator: Ambassador Wolfgang Schallenberg (Austria), President of Austrian Association for Foreign Policy and International Affairs (ÖGA)

12.30-14.00 Lunch break

14.00-15.30 Session II
“ASEAN-EU economic relations and other areas of cooperation: maximising mutual benefits”
Speakers:
- Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani (Indonesia), Director General of ASEAN-Indonesia
- Ambassador Nopadol Gunavibool (Thailand), Director General of ASEAN-Thailand
- Mag. Gudrun Hager (Austria), Deputy Director General for Austrian Trade, Austrian Chamber of Economy (WKÖ)
Moderator: Ambassador Soemadi D.M. Brotodiningrat (Indonesia), former Ambassador to Geneva, Tokyo and Washington and former Director General for Foreign Economic Relations


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By: Ong Keng Yong, Secretary General of ASEAN

Introductory Points
The early seeds of regional integration were planted as far back as 1992 when ASEAN – then only six members – agreed to form an ASEAN Free Trade Area. Prior to this, the focus in ASEAN had been, almost exclusively, on regional cooperation rather than integration.

The buzz that currently surrounds all discussion on regional integration in ASEAN really came into being in 2003. ASEAN – now with ten members - declared a commitment to regional integration across the board – not just in the economic sectors - and the term “ASEAN Community” quickly became part of our common vocabulary.

The last two years in particular have seen a frenzy of community-building activities. In January 2007, the ASEAN Leaders upped the ante and agreed to accelerate the pace of integration, bringing forward the timetable for achieving the ASEAN Community from 2020 to 2015.

Looking to the EU for Ideas, not as a Model

Community building is an ambitious task. Undertaking this with an eye to a deadline only eight short years away can be a daunting challenge. It is by no accident that ASEAN has been looking at the European Union’s rich experience as we map out our own plans for becoming a Community by 2015.

We are not looking to take the EU model lock, stock and barrel. We simply cannot. The very nature of ASEAN as an intergovernmental organisation differs from that of the EU. However, we are looking for good ideas and best practices, and the European Union certainly has plenty of these.

There are three specific challenges that we in ASEAN are seized with as we lay the foundations of our ASEAN Community, and for which we are looking towards European experience for some ideas.

First, moving ASEAN to become a more rules-based organisation.
The ASEAN Charter, which is expected to be signed by the Leaders this November, will be an important milestone. In effect, the Charter will formalise the establishment of ASEAN as a full-fledged inter-governmental organisation, moving it from its current state as a loosely-organised regional entity. The ASEAN Charter will confer ASEAN with a legal personality as an inter-governmental organisation, one that is separate from each Member State. With the Charter, Member States will have a framework to operate efficiently under a rules-based environment. ASEAN decisions and agreements will become legally binding. In all, the Charter will be instrumental in making ASEAN more effective as ASEAN steps up the pace of regional integration and community building.

The EU’s very legal approach is probably one that ASEAN is not ready for as yet. For instance, the EU has a court system and ASEAN is not near having one at this stage. However, the drafters of the Charter have met with various EU experts and officials to learn from their experiences on enforcing compliance and ensure observance to the rights and responsibilities of membership.

Second, Narrowing the Development Gap.
We do not want a two-tier ASEAN. Our newer members – those who joined in the 1990s – are playing a catch-up development game. This cannot go on indefinitely without having a negative effect on ASEAN cohesiveness.

To-date, most of our initiatives in narrowing the development gap has been on capacity building for our newer members. It is coming to a point where we need to think about the next stage. The question is whether we are prepared to give larger focus towards projects like regional infrastructure building and whether we can raise the resources to do so? Can aspects of European mechanisms be applied to ASEAN?

Third, cultivating a stronger sense of an ASEAN identity.
Europe has been relatively successful in instilling a European identity. In contrast, it would be rare in Southeast Asia, to find citizens who think themselves as belong to ASEAN. We are aware we cannot build the ASEAN Community if the people of ASEAN do not feel invested in it.

A European friend suggested the concept of “positive discrimination” – by which he means that the citizens of ASEAN should be able to get some benefit only they as citizens are entitled to.

Most Europeans are multi lingual. ASEAN could look to promote the learning of other ASEAN languages among the people to help promote better understanding among the people.


How the EU has contributed to a Stronger ASEAN

ASEAN and the EU have had 30 years of Dialogue relations. In recent years, the EU has been a strong supporter of ASEAN’s regional integration initiatives and has been open about sharing knowledge and expertise. Through programmes like the EU-sponsored ASEAN Programme for Regional Integration Support (APRIS), and the activities under the Trans Regional EU-ASEAN Trade Initiative (TREATI) and the Reigional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (READI)

Why should a strong ASEAN matter to Europe?

An ASEAN that is a serious-minded, effective and cohesive organisation will be an important and reliable partner for Europe in the dynamic East Asian region.

ASEAN has been at the “drivers’ seat” of the ASEAN Plus Three process and the ASEAN Regional Forum. ASEAN was also entrusted to launch the East Asia Summit. It takes a strong and cohesive ASEAN to be able to play a central role as a credible honest broker and once that can help drive these fora and mechanisms to produce results. ASEAN will continue to help shape the emerging East Asian architecture.

A strong ASEAN will be a reflection of an economically stable ASEAN which is good for European economic interests in ASEAN.

With a combined GDP of around US$800 billion and a market of more that 550 million, there are great economic opportunities for European business.

From 2005 and 2006, total trade grew from US$141 billion to US$160 billion, or about 13 per cent.

Indeed, the EU and ASEAN decided in May 2007 to launch negotiations for an ASEAN-EU FTA and a stable partnership will contribute to a successful FTA which can open even more opportunities for all 37 economies, particularly small economies, to access one another’s markets and attract FDI.

Future prospects for cooperation are good. A plan of action for the Nuremberg Declaration is being drafted and the leaders will be meeting at a Summit in November 2007.


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„One ASEAN: A Partner for Europe“
Remarks by Amb. Johannes Kyrle, Secretary General for Foreign Affairs, MFA Austria

2007 is a landmark year for ASEAN and the EU. It marks 50 years of European integration, 40 years of ASEAN and 30 years of EU-ASEAN cooperation. It is the anniversary of two fascinating projects which have gone a long way, sometimes bumpy, but both very successful. So there is every reason for holding a conference on EU-ASEAN relations. On behalf of the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs, I wish to thank the organizers for the initiative and, in particular, the representatives from ASEAN countries for their participation.

Some time ago, one perhaps would have formulated the topic of today’s conference as a question: “Is ASEAN a Partner for Europe?” Today it is a statement of fact.

To illustrate why it is a fact, let me start with some examples:

Cooperation between ASEAN and the EU has never been more encompassing. That is true for political, economic, academic and people-to-people contacts. An extensive network for political dialogue at different levels has been put in place. This year, EU and ASEAN Foreign ministers met in March in Nuremberg and only two months later again in Hamburg in the framework of ASEM. An extra EU-ASEAN Summit to celebrate 30 years of cooperation is scheduled for 22 November in Singapore.

The EU is now ASEAN’s third largest trading partner. Every sixth Euro earned by ASEAN through export is from trade with the EU. ASEAN-EU nominal trade volume today is more than eight times higher than in 1980.Over five million tourists from the EU travelled to ASEAN countries in 2005. That is more than 10% of all tourist arrivals in the ASEAN region.ASEAN and EU can draw on a comprehensive contractual basis.

The EU is currently negotiating or preparing Partnership and Cooperation Agreements with most ASEAN countries. Negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and ASEAN have been launched in early May. In March, EU and ASEAN adopted a “Declaration on an EU–ASEAN Enhanced Partnership”. An Action Plan to implement this Declaration is to follow.
These few elements should give you an impression of the dynamics that we currently witness in EU-ASEAN relations. EU and ASEAN are “ready to shift up a gear”, as EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner put it recently. The interest to enhance contacts and cooperation has developed on both sides. Relations have matured and diversified, moving from economy only to a broad range of issues.

The new diversity and richness in EU-ASEAN relations goes hand in hand with a new state of mind. Both sides realize that they also need to invest in things like mutual understanding and respect, the building of trust and a sense of partnership. In these areas in particular, ASEAN and EU have made much headway together.

The joint EU-ASEAN Monitoring Mission in Aceh is a shining example for that. It has lent a new quality to EU-ASEAN relations. An ambitious joint undertaking of that sort would have been impossible without a large dose of mutual confidence.

All that suggests that EU-ASEAN partnership is self-evident and could be taken for granted. But what is actually driving EU-ASEAN partnership? It hardly is geography. EU and ASEAN are only located far from each other. There are no hard-core EU military interests in the ASEAN region and vice versa. Apparently, classical foreign policy concepts fail to fully explain EU-ASEAN partnership.

Broadly speaking, I would identify two main driving forces in EU-ASEAN relations: A. regional integration and B. globalization.

A. Regional Integration:

As you know, EU and ASEAN have a very peculiar feature in common. Though departing from different starting points, they both have embarked on the adventure of integrating their respective regions both politically and economically. That choice, in a way, makes them natural interlocutors. It creates a bond of mutual interest and sympathy.

ASEAN and the European Union are champions of integration in their regions. The EU has a common internal market, a common currency and much more, but in some areas, ASEAN has overtaken the EU. ASEAN has its own football championship, the EU does not. Not too long ago, US Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill noted on a visit to Asia that ASEAN was catching up with the EU in terms of the number of coordination meetings.

Most importantly, both the EU and ASEAN are peace projects and, in their underlying concept, go far beyond mere cost-benefit thinking and zero-sum games.

The EU has traditionally been supportive of ASEAN integration. From the outset, EU has held a very positive view of ASEAN as an important factor of regional stability. Austria fully subscribes to that. Of course, both integration processes have their own specificities. But both sides know that they are on a similar mission and that they can learn from each other’s experience. In essence, the ASEAN Charter and the EU Constitution (or rather Reform Treaty) are related projects. The core question is the same for both organisations: how shall we proceed with integration?

The deepening of integration both in the EU and ASEAN has, in parallel, opened windows of opportunity for taking EU-ASEAN interaction forward. It has continuously widened the scope for dialogue and cooperation. Imagine discussion or even joint action in connection with crisis management twenty years ago. This would have been pure fiction at that time. EU Foreign and Security Policy then still was not put in place and ASEAN was not yet ready for it either.

Today EU-ASEAN relations also need to be seen in the light of the strategic dynamics in Asia. China’s rise is at the heart of significant changes in the region. These changes naturally also impact on ASEAN and on the future shape of integration in the region. Much is still in flux. But ASEAN will be at the centre of developments or even in the driving seat. The EU is interested to be involved in these developments, for instance in the newly established East Asia Summit. And ASEAN countries have repeatedly encouraged the EU to play an active role in Asia. EU accession to the Treaty on Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) may be a first next step in that direction. Politically, EU involvement in the ongoing processes in Asia would certainly give EU-ASEAN relations an additional boost.

B. Globalization

Now a few words about globalization, the other driving force of EU-ASEAN partnership. Globalization truly is a powerful engine, also for EU-ASEAN relations: we register an increase in trade, transport, communication, people-to-people contacts and so forth. I have given some examples and figures at the beginning.

There is a specific example of best practice I would wish to mention because it casts light on the positive potential of globalization and because Austria has been among the pioneers. We have recently drawn the attention of EU-ASEAN Foreign Ministers to it. I am referring to university cooperation and the project of ASEA UNINET. ASEA UNINET was founded in 1994 by two Austrian and two Thai universities with the aim to encourage and facilitate academic cooperation. That idea turned out to be very fruitful. It is now an Asian-European trademark and comprises 63 universities from 16 European and Asian countries.
It is unlikely that this initiative would have yielded the same results without modern information and communication technologies.

In this context, it is worthwhile to remember that not only capital, goods, information and people travel fast today. Problems do as well. The management of these problems is the real challenge of globalization, also for EU and ASEAN. I will revert to that in a moment.

So far, I have largely portrayed the sunny side of EU-ASEAN relations. What about contentious issues? Are there any? At this juncture, it is hard to spot any major disturbances on the horizon. But there are issues which do involve sensitivities and which may turn out to be difficult to grapple with.

There is the controversial issue of Myanmar, a longstanding cause of concern for both the EU and ASEAN. It is not a secret that EU and ASEAN have had some problems in dealing with that issue. The EU is aware that ASEAN partners are caught in a difficult situation. Putting pressure on another member state is not part of the ASEAN tradition. But by and large, EU and ASEAN were able to find a reasonable way of handling the issue. Most importantly, both sides agree that much more can be achieved if they act together. Both sides also seem to agree that the Myanmar issue, however important it is, should not harm EU-ASEAN dialogue. Nor should EU-ASEAN cooperation be taken hostage by the issue. Still, developments in Myanmar are likely to remain a sensitive item on the EU-ASEAN agenda.

Of course, there may be also scenarios when questions related to democracy and human rights could test EU-ASEAN partnership.

However, the EU and ASEAN have developed a culture of dialogue which allows discussing even such sensitive issues with an open mindset. EU-ASEAN partnership appears sufficiently robust and mature to cope with challenges like that.

This brings me to the last part of my presentation which is meant to be forward-looking and revolves around two questions:
What can EU and ASEAN achieve together?
What are the areas where EU and ASEAN together can make a difference?

1. Economic cooperation is going to remain a central pillar of EU-ASEAN partnership. The prospect of an EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement is a clear signal that both sides are determined to further strengthen and extend their economic partnership.

2. Building on past practice, continued EU support for the ASEAN integration process will be an important facet of future cooperation. EU and ASEAN will keep exchanging lessons learned, as was done before, for instance when the “ASEAN Group of Eminent Persons” for their work on the future ASEAN Charter also consulted EU expertise.
3. At present, there is no genuine regional security mechanism in Asia. There is only an embryonic one: the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). The ARF is the only permanent intergovernmental body in Asia to deal with security and security policy. ASEAN is in the driving seat. The EU is a member of the ARF, together with a number of other regional players such as China, India, Japan, India, the US, North and South Korea etc. Some speculate that the ARF could one day become an Asian equivalent of the OSCE.
In any case, the ARF offers ample opportunity for EU and ASEAN to do certain things together with a view to enhancing the role of ARF in promoting peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. In particular confidence-building measures and preventive diplomacy are promising avenues for the future focus of ARF activities. In this regard, closer EU-ASEAN coordination and cooperation within ARF could bring in important added-value.

4. There is a great deal EU and ASEAN together can contribute to a more efficient management of global issues. The EU-ASEAN dialogue, but also the broader ASEM setting, do provide useful platforms for that. The EU-ASEAN Action Plan is expected to identify concrete areas where EU and ASEAN could join forces. This is work in progress and drafts are currently scrutinized by both sides. But there are, in my view, areas which would in particular qualify for enhanced cooperation:

Energy and climate change: There is a new sense of urgency with respect to energy and climate policy. The EU is in the vanguard of endeavours to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to promote energy efficiency as well as renewable energy. For quite some time now, the issue also figures prominently on the agenda of EU-ASEAN meetings. Both sides acknowledge the importance of the problem and stand ready to cooperate. The first initial steps have been taken and we are gradually moving towards concrete joint projects. Counter terrorism and trans-national crime: the EU-ASEAN declaration on cooperation to combat terrorism signed in 2003 leaves room for joint activities, especially in the area of capacity building. As for trans-national crime, ASEAN and the EU could look into ways of strengthening linkages between its law enforcement agencies with a view to sharing experience and best practices.

Dialogue of cultures and religions: EU and ASEAN form active part of the manifold national, regional and global initiatives to promote intercultural understanding. This is a matter of priority, also for Austria. It will determine our ability to henceforth deal with and resolve intercultural problems. The ASEM Interfaith dialogue is a good example how EU and ASEAN can foster the process. The third ASEM Interfaith Dialogue was held only a month ago in China and was co-sponsored by several ASEAN and EU countries, including Austria.

Ladies and gentlemen,

A former Prime Minister of Singapore once deplored what he called Europe’s “benign neglect” of Asia. Today that assessment no longer reflects realities. EU and ASEAN have set themselves ambitious agendas not only for the further course of integration in their regions but also for the future of EU-ASEAN cooperation. A Joint Action Plan is to complete the road map which will guide both organizations in their common strive for enhanced partnership.

A “Caring and Sharing Community” was the leitmotiv of the ASEAN Summit in Cebu in January of this year. I trust that the attitude behind that philosophy will also steer EU and ASEAN in their dealings. If we succeed with that, EU-ASEAN partnership will be on a safe track.



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