The European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) commemorated forty-five years of diplomatic ties on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at the one-day EU-ASEAN summit held in Brussels.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council expressed at the opening ceremony of the commemorative summit that the meeting was an opportunity to bind the regions together.

“We are here to celebrate 45 years as partners and to set our shared priorities for the coming years. This month also marks the two-year anniversary of ASEAN and the EU becoming strategic partners. And looking back, we have clearly shown that this was the right decision.”
Charles Michel

The EU is seeking to expand trade and investment with a large part of the world, especially emerging economies, after being severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, the war in Ukraine has added to Europe’s economic woes and put the bloc at risk of a recession.

“We have to make sure that we have a strong position in our relationship with ASEAN. We are talking about worldwide supply chains, we are talking about growth potential.”
Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte

Reduced Russian energy supplies have affected financial markets and fueled inflation, driving up the consumer cost of everything from food to electricity.

Along with seeking out new energy sources abroad and at home, the EU is considering devoting additional funds to help businesses in Europe deal with high fuel prices.

French President Emmanuel Macron did not attend the summit because he has flown to Qatar to watch France’s World Cup semifinal match against Morocco.

On the side of the ten-member ASEAN, Myanmar’s military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, was absent because the European Union refused to invite him.

The other ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The members, which cumulatively represent 660 million people, rank among the world’s top ten economies.

EU Allocates 10 Billion Euros For ASEAN-Region Projects

Europe announced 10 billion euros ($10.6 billion) for ASEAN-region projects under its “Global Gateway” program, which is something of a European answer to China’s “Belt and Road Initiative.”

“In the global world that we are living in today, it is very important that we are connected to like-minded countries,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas intoned.

Both sides also focused on creating more clean energy to fight climate change and on deepening economic relations through greater trade.

An EU agenda of more than a decade ago, for a free-trade agreement with ASEAN as a whole gave way to targeted deals with individual members.

The EU has negotiated trade pacts with Singapore and Vietnam and is in discussions with Indonesia on a similar accord.

European free-trade negotiations with Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, however, are on hold.

“Trade is a powerful tool for promoting growth and closer ties between our regions,” said Charles Michel.

Additionally, Michel noted, “Our trade agreements with Vietnam and Singapore have already boosted our common trade and continue to help drive our recovery.”