Two years target for FTA conclusion with EU very ambitious, says Asean Sec-Gen
Bernama | 8 Aug 2008
Two Years Target For FTA Conclusion With EU Very Ambitious, Says Asean Sec-Gen
JAKARTA, Aug 8 (Bernama) — Asean Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan today shot down the possibility of a speedy conclusion of the European Union (EU) - Asean Free Trade Agreement (FTA), saying that the two years target was very ambitious.
He said that an EU-Asean Minus FTA will still take time as it needs to undergo processes to identify which countries are willing to move forward first and in which sectors.
"I can see our discussion with the EU on the FTA taking a relatively long period ....Our FTA with India itself has taken five years. So what they are doing now is a survey on which members are willing to move forward, so that they concentrate on the readiness of those countries.
"It will take a period of time to identify which member states and in which sector they are willing to open up and to negotiate to move forward, with the rights of others to follow later on," he said at the Asean 41st anniversary at the Asean Secretariat here, today.
Dr Surin was speaking to media participants of the course training of Reporting on Regional Integration in South East Asia, co-organised by the Secretariat and Germans International Institute for Journalism of InWent.
He said some member countries will not be as willing to open up as others.
On other non-tariff issues the EU is keen to include in the FTA, such as intellectual property, environment, labour and public procurement, Dr Surin said these could be accommodated and were not the make or break kind of issues.
"It will be a formula that is moving forward but at the same time is not imposing and restricting, not pushing and pulling anybody who is not willing to go along," he added.
In April 2007, the EU Council authorised the EU Commission to start negotiations on a FTA with Asean.
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson in May said EU while maintaining a regional framework, was willing to go faster in talks with Asean countries ambitious to conclude the agreement quickly while others can join the pact when they are ready.
EU-Asean Cooperation counsellor of European Commission Delegation to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, Vasilica Basil Constantinescu, on Wednesday said an EU-Asean Minus FTA is expected to be established within the next two to three years’ time, which will likely exclude Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia until they are prepared to join the pact.
