Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-02-Speech-1-089"
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"en.20001002.7.1-089"2
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".
Mr President, the third meeting of the ASEM process will take place in Seoul in three weeks. It is a fortunate coincidence that the meeting is taking place in Korea soon after the historic Korean summit, which opened the way to reconciliation and future reunification. This will clearly have significant positive effects for security, not only regionally but also globally. This meeting will mark the maturing of a process which began four years ago in Bangkok. This process complements our bilateral relations with our ten Asian partners, as well as our relations with ASEAN, and contributes to the process of integration in Asia and in Europe.
It is important to fill the cultural vacuum between our two regions. The need to increase awareness, to spread knowledge with a view to stimulating understanding, and eliminating false ideas have been important objectives of the ASEM process since its beginnings. The Asia-Europe Foundation has contributed considerably to this objective. The leaders will therefore decide on other initiatives to increase the exchange of students between the regions, to modernise educational structures, to intensify cooperation in the development of human resources and exchange points of view on recent socio-political events.
In this regard, we regret that our Asian partners are still not prepared to consider the creation of a social forum, within the ASEM process, which represents civil society in the same way that the Asia-Europe business forum represents the business community. This proposal originates from the organisers of the forum of the peoples.
From an organisational and logistical point of view, the Korean Presidency will publish a Presidency statement which will address – together with the problems discussed by the leaders – issues such as the reform of the United Nations, disarmament, arms control, the fight against AIDS etc.
The final text will reflect the discussions between the leaders, but good work has already been carried out. Therefore, the presidency will update it in accordance with its responsibilities during the meeting. The Seoul declaration on the Korean Peninsula, which I mentioned before, recognises the importance of recent progress and approves the policy of introducing North Korea into the international community with a view to the peaceful unification of the two Koreas.
Finally, the 2000 framework for cooperation between Europe and Asia, an updated version of the first one, adopted at the last meeting in London, outlines the objectives and procedures which will govern the ASEM process over the next decade. In contrast to the last version, the importance of human rights and cooperation in safeguarding the environment have been added, to give just two examples. The only outstanding problem is the question of qualification for membership, with regard to which the European partners have so far been opposed to attempts to introduce certain limits which could be interpreted as excluding certain partners from future participation.
In summary, please allow me to stress that the most important characteristic of the ASEM process – in my opinion – is the establishment of a regular dialogue at the highest level by means of six-monthly summits prepared at the periodic meetings of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Economics and Finance, not to mention the numerous meetings of high-level officials and experts which also accompany them.
Dialogue with our Asian partners has become a normal event, which does not depend on economic euphoria or pessimism resulting from a crisis. The ASEM process is a clear expression of the Union’s absolute commitment to our Asian partners, on an equal footing, and does not only deal with economic matters but also with the important political and personal dimension. Given Asia’s importance to Europe, and vice versa, mutual learning and the dissemination of knowledge, the establishment of a network between leaders and peoples will help to put into practice the theme chosen for ASEM III, that is to say, working together for prosperity and stability in the new millennium.
The ASEM process is built on three pillars: the political, the economic and the cultural. The ASEM process has aided the ASEAN + 3 process, bringing North and South-East Asia even closer together. Its structure of meetings between Ministers for Finance, Economics and Foreign Affairs, as well as the summits, follow the ASEM model. In the Union we also had to, and still have to, learn how to efficiently manage a process which seeks to promote political dialogue in order to deepen the economic relationship between the two regions and increase personal and cultural contacts.
The process is based on a relationship of equality. By stressing the original idea that this process of dialogue should be developed as a process between equal partners and kept as informal as possible, without an institutionalised secretariat, we have managed, despite certain difficulties, to convince our Asian partners that we wish to have equal relations with them, going beyond any donor-receiver relationship with them or any post-colonial standpoint.
This approach is especially important in terms of our efforts to consolidate, deepen and broaden the political dialogue. While our Asian partners prefer to deal with questions which unite us, excluding all others, we have argued for a broader agenda, excluding nothing. Our partners have accepted this principle in return for a guarantee that wisdom and common sense will prevail when it comes to selecting the issues for discussion. Human rights are most problematic, of course, together with the rejection of intervention in internal affairs and other arguments which are familiar to us. Nevertheless, the statement by the presidency of the meeting and the framework for cooperation between Asia and Europe will clearly mention this problem.
I would also like to add that, within the broader framework of the ASEM process, we are holding a constructive series of seminars on human rights organised jointly with the Asia-Europe Foundation. Security problems, which are of particular importance in the region, will play a considerable role in the process, and it is worth mentioning the publication of a separate declaration on the Korean peninsular as an example of this.
The leaders will also deal with the fight against cross-border crime, especially in the light of the recent Dover tragedy. The exploitation of illegal immigrants, women and children, particularly in the virulent sex industry, will not only be a subject for debate, but also initiatives will be taken to combat this scourge of our times, which is linked to poverty and insecurity.
In the field of the economy, 1993 was a significant year, since it was the critical moment when our exports to Asia exceeded our exports to the United States. The second ASEM meeting, which took place in London in 1998, successfully overcame the crisis. We supported our Asian partners and we adopted concrete measures, such as the significant commitment on trade and investments which reversed the earlier trend and led to a considerable commercial deficit with our partners. The creation of a trust fund, the establishment of a European financial network of experts and the adoption of two action plans to assist trade and promote investments are other concrete measures which show that Europe is concerned about Asia, not only in the good times but also in times of crisis.
The coming meeting will allow us to assess the results of our efforts and confirm that we have made progress in the pursuit of greater operability and efficiency. Furthermore, the leaders will discuss the implications of the new economy, globalisation, the lessons learnt from the crisis, the creation of a trans-European-Asian superhighway to improve contacts between research institutes, and discuss the influence of the new technologies on economic life, including the measures to deal with the ever-greater knowledge gap.
As a result of the current global situation, the availability of energy supply, including oil, has been added to the agenda. The need for a general, multilateral legal framework for the commercial system, such as the World Trade Organisation, and the need to keep it functioning in the era of globalisation, will also be a key issue in the leaders’ discussions. This is part of our strategy to make progress on the consensus in favour of an immediate start to a new global round."@en1
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