Free Trade Talks Put on Hold Pie Chart Troubles
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ECONOMIC CRISIS EUROPEAN COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT MEP suggests monetary fund for Legal guarantees for Ireland Member states reluctant bailing out EU members Page 8 not drafted yet Page 8 to commit fresh money Page 9 EUROPOLITICS The European affairs daily Monday 18 May 2009 N° 3755 37th year FOCUS EU/ASEAN Free trade talks put on hold Pie chart troubles By Sébastien Falletti in Seoul the regional approach on the back burner By Célia Sampol to explore the possibility of progress with After two years of fruitless discussions, some individual members of ASEAN. The European Parliament’s services are the EU and ASEAN have discreetly put While the EU refuses to include Rangoon preparing for the electoral evening, on 7 on hold their free trade talks until they in an FTA, the South East Asian bloc has June. In a way, the event is one of the find a new formula to advance the negoti- been insisting for two years on keeping institution’s most important because ations, Europolitics has learned. Divided the military dictatorship at the negotiat- on that evening it presents on a large both on the format and the contents of ing table. Moreover, the trade liberalisa- screen, to the cameras of the entire Euro- a future bilateral free trade agreement tion offered by the Asian side, especially pean press, the very first pie chart giving (FTA), the two economic blocs have in the field of non-tariff trade barriers, a preview of the structure of the new decided earlier this month to freeze their fell short of the EU’s expectations. Parliament. The chart might be slightly talks until further notice. The EU made Against this backdrop, the Commis- adapted the following day but then will no public announcement of the decision, sion’s negotiators have started last year to not budge until the inaugural plenary but the European Commission confirmed test the willingness of several countries to session, on 14-15 July in Strasbourg. the information when asked by Europoli- negotiate bilaterally more ambitious trade The challenge is to compile in record tics. There is an agreed “pause” in the liberalisation provisions. The EU hopes time the information submitted by the negotiations, said a spokesperson for EU that some ASEAN members, such as Sin- 27 member states, keeping in mind that Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton. gapore, Vietnam or Thailand, are ready to the national elections are all different and However, the Commission denies any go beyond the trade liberalisation offer put that the polling stations do not all close “suspension” of the talks launched in on the table by the regional bloc. at the same time. EP officials also use Brunei, in 2007. Although the Commission insists that it certain assumptions as they try to put The ASEAN side formally took the is still interested in negotiating a region- together the new pie chart. For example, decision to put on ice the talks on 5 May to-region FTA, the new EU approach is they suppose that re-elected members during a meeting of economic ministers putting the ASEAN solidarity to the test. generally stay in the same political group, held in Siem Reap, Cambodia. “Consid- Most developed and free trade-oriented barring a statement to the contrary. They ering that there is a difficulty on the part countries, like Singapore, are confronted also assume that new MEPs from a Euro- of the EU to resume the FTA negotiation with a dilemma but have so far refused to pean party that is already a member of a with ASEAN, the ministers agree to tem- break the ASEAN’s ranks. group will belong to the group in ques- porarily halt talks, while in the meantime The “pause” in the negotiations aims tion. Some, however, are not members of trying to find common ground that both at giving further impetus to the new EU either a group or a party. They are conse- parties can agree on,” said the Indonesian approach, according to a Commission quently placed into the ‘others’ category. Trade Ministry in its statement. source. The EU executive argues that The pie chart is uncertain in any case bilateral talks are not contradictory with an because the newly elected members STRATEGIC SHIFT EU-ASEAN FTA and could be developed have one month from the evening of The key factor behind the decision is under the umbrella of a region-to-region 7 June to come to a final decision a shift in EU strategy. Increasingly frus- deal. By freezing the talks, the Commis- on the group they will sit in for the trated by the lack of progress of the talks, sion hopes to trigger a debate within the legislative period. notably because of the Burma (Myan- Asian bloc that could eventually lead to a mar) issue, the Commission is putting compromise solution. n Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language www.europolitics.info The centrepiece EUROPOLITICSTHE EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DAILY of EU news www.europolitics.info ❏ Yes, I would like to subscribe to EUROPOLITICS daily: ❏ 6 MONTHS, 112 issues (paper version) + unlimited online access at the price of €890 (1). HELPGETTING US GET TO TO KNOW KNOW YOU YOU BETTER… BETTER… ❏ 1 YEAR, 223 issues (paper version) + unlimited online access at the price of €1,700 (1). 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