|
|
|||
|
EUROPEAN INSTITUTE FOR ASIAN STUDIES Newsletter June / 2010
|
|
||
|
OBITUARY - Gwyn Morgan The European Institute for Asian Studies was very sad to learn of the death of its long-standing Vice-Chairman, Gwyn Morgan, who passed away in London on 21st of April 2010 after a short illness. Gwyn Morgan had been a long time supporter of the Institute and his wise counsels will be sorely missed at board meetings. After working for several years as Assistant General Secretary of the British Labour Party, Gwyn came to Brussels in January 1973 (which is when I first knew him) to be chef de cabinet of Britain’s first Labour Commissioner, George Thomson, who was responsible for establishing the then European Community’s new Regional Policy. Then, in 1975, he began heading a series of the Commission’s representative offices, beginning with the newly-established regional office in Cardiff, in his native South Wales. After further service in Ottawa and Tel Aviv, he was appointed to run the Commission’s office in Bangkok, where he was responsible for relations with Thailand and several other ASEAN countries. This led to his being appointed as head of the Commission’s department dealing with South-East Asia in the Directorate General for External Relations, back in Brussels. Upon his retirement from the Commission, in 1979, he became a member of EIAS and was shortly thereafter elected to its board, becoming one of two vice-chairmen (the other, Malcolm Subhan, passed away in 2008). Gwyn Morgan was re-elected for another term as a board member at the end of 2009 but, unfortunately, his failing health prevented him for attending any further meetings. Gwyn Morgan had a wide and deep understanding of international affairs and had met many of the leading personalities, who had helped shape the later years of the twentieth century. From his time in Bangkok, he had developed a profound interest in, and great affection for, South-East Asia. He was also a jovial fellow and a delightful companion. Apart from his work, he was a keen follower of sport, particularly of cricket and rugby football, at both of which he had excelled in his youth, and up to the last he would always find time to attend international matches, whether in Paris, London or Cardiff. He will be sadly missed by all his colleagues at the Institute and our thoughts go out both to his children and to his wife, Françoise, who often accompanied him to Brussels when he attended our meetings.
 Obituaries of Gwyn Morgan can be read online at:
Dick Gupwell
EIAS Vice-Chairman
|
In this issue: • The 11th World Korean Forum at a glance • Is there an EU-Japan economic deal on the horizon? • Prospects for Europe's free trade relations with Asia • Upcoming EIAS activities - EIAS LUNCH BRIEFING, "Relocation of Productive Capacity and the Built-in Conflict between Producers and Importers in the Home Countries" - EIAS ROUNTABLE DISCUSSION, Sri Lanka in the Post-Conflict Situation - EIAS LUNCH BRIEFING, 16th SAARC Summit - EU-KOREA BRIEFING SEMINAR, Roundtable Discussion on Sri Lanka in the Post-Conflict Situation
European Institute for Asian Studies |
||
|
Report on the 11th World Korean Forum The New Era of Korea and the EU The Korean Global Foundation and the European Institute for Asian Studies organised the 11th World Korean Forum on 10-11 May 2010 in the European Parliament and at the Metropole Hotel in Brussels. With the objective of analysing the process of European integration as a potential model for Korean Unification, the Forum gathered a number of distinguished European, Korean and international experts in the field. Considering the recent developments in Europe since the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, the subsequent establishment of the European External Action Service, the increasing influence of the European Parliament on European policy and the recent progress in negotiations of an EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Forum is timely. As Korea and the European Union are strengthening their relations in terms of trade and economy policy, the question of the ratification of the EU-Korea FTA, both by the European Parliament and the Korean National Assembly, were important items of discussion. The other main issue debated was relations between North and South Korea. The continued division of the Korean Peninsula sixty years after the Korean War was seen to be an issue of concern among the Korean participants, and prospects for progress in regards to reunification have clearly been dampened by the rise in tension since the alleged sinking of the Cheonan by a North Korean torpedo.
Can Japan emulate Korea with EU economic deal? Emilie Ono
As the prospective Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and Japan remains on the table, on the other side of the East Sea the Republic of Korea push on with the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) currently being reviewed by the European Parliament. Korea’s progress has gone a long way to spur the Japanese government into action, even if the prospect of FTA negotiations is still a long way off. With no agreement yet in place between Japan and the EU, and the EU keen to focus on concluding the Korea FTA, Japan’s timing couldn’t have been worse.
During the Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington on the 12th and 13th April 2010, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama underlined Japan’s ambition to launch a joint study on the prospective EU-Japan EPA to the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, while emphasizing Japan’s will to lower non-tariff barriers, a major factor that put of EU negotiators during the first round of talks.
At the 19th EU-Japan Summit in Tokyo last April, discussions took place on ways to strengthen economic ties. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy together with Hatoyama agreed to establish a high level group to further discuss bilateral trade relations, and even explore the possibility of an FTA. Both parties also agreed to cooperate in promoting security and peace in Afghanistan through close work with the Afghan government, the United Nations and other international organizations.
Another of the core issues discussed was climate change, with both sides agreeing to actively engage in achieving common objectives under the Kyoto Protocol, as well as explore the adoption of an effective legally binding agreement which establishes a new international framework including participation from the major economies.
Despite concerns, EU pushes on with FTA negotiations with Asia David Bartram Given the relative ease with which the EU’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with South Korea have progressed thus far, it appears that those who called for the EU to pursue a bilateral deal with the country have a right to feel vindicated.
But keep that champagne on ice for the time being. Despite a quiet confidence among Commission officials that the deal with pass through the European Parliament (and indeed the 27 national parliaments of the member states, not to mention the Korean National Assembly) come the autumn, the FTA still has its opponents.
The most vocal of these is, of course, an automobile industry fearing an influx of cheap Korean cars. Hyundai, we’re looking at you. Officials have done everything they can to allay these fears, one negotiator declaring that the deal will not bring, “the export surge some European manufacturers fear.” It may prove a struggle convincing the national parliaments of this, especially at a time when protectionism could prove a popular sell amid this economic uncertainty.
Although the biggest hurdle still to leap could be back in Korea. Remember 2006 and the huge public protests that greeted the proposed US-Korea FTA? Those Koreans in favour of the deal will point out there is a big difference between a deal with the US and a deal with the EU. But regardless of this, there were murmurings at the 11th World Korea Forum in Brussels earlier this month that some are yet to be sold on free trade with Europe. “I don’t think this FTA is so favourable to Korea. This FTA was unknown to the Korean public. It didn’t raise the public’s attention. The public was deceived by the media and the government,” lamented one delegate.
The implications of the agreement collapsing at this stage shouldn’t be underestimated, especially in regards to negotiations with India, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. Failure to reach a deal with Korea – a country that has a lot more in common economically with the Eurozone than much of the rest of the region – might be enough to convince sceptics that further FTAs with Asian countries are not worth pursuing.
When the EU-ASEAN FTA broke down in March 2009, one Commission official blamed a ‘difference of vision’ from the two parties. While the EU favoured a wide-ranging, ambitious and comprehensive deal, ASEAN argued for a gradual approach. The differing economic development of ASEAN countries ultimately put pay to this comprehensive deal envisioned by the EU, but no such factor can be blamed if the Korea deal collapses.
The EU must be praised for taking a bilateral approach to Asia, even if, as one official put it, “the long term objective of a region-to-region agreement still stands.” Bilateralism will enable the EU to tailor deals suited to individual countries, and could also give it more leverage on non-trade issues, something that the Commission insists is, “an essential part of any EU agreement.”
However, with negotiations with India, Singapore and other ASEAN countries still in progress, all eyes will be on the EU-Korea FTA overcoming the remaining obstacles to set the standard for mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreements.
|
EIAS EVENTS To RSVP to any of the following events, please confirm your participation by e-mail to eias@eias.org, mentioning your name, position, organisation and contact details.
► Tuesday, 8th June 2010, 12.30h - 14.30h at EIAS
EIAS LUNCH BRIEFING
"Relocation of Productive Capacity and the Built-in Conflict between Producers and Importers in the Home Countries"
Chair: Mr. Dick Gupwell, Vice-Chairman, European Institute for Asian Studies
Keynote Speaker: Prof. em. Sylvain Plasschaert, University of Antwerp and Leuven
Discussants: 1.) Mr. Stefaan Depypere, Director, Trade Defence, DG Trade European Commission 2.) Mr. Carsten Dannöhl, BusinessEurope 3.) Mr. Robert Mc Lean, Partner, Crowell and Moring, Law Firm 4.) Mr. Rudi Delarue, Director, Brussels Office of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
Cheaper imports often provoke calls for protection from domestic producers, particularly when their competition comes from foreign producers who have relocated to lower cost jurisdictions. But what about the importers in the home country, as well as the consumers and intermediaries who oppose this protectionism?
Prof. Sylvain Plasschaert, who specializes in international business and economic developments in China, will present a selection of typical cases of such conflicts and analyze the variables that determine their origins and outcomes in the international economy.
Click here to read more
EIAS ROUNTABLE DISCUSSION
Sri Lanka in the Post-Conflict Situation
One year after the end of the long and violent struggle in Sri Lanka between government security forces and the liberation tigers of Tamil- Eelam, EIAS will hold a roundtable discussion, on 10th June, to discuss recent political developments in Sri Lanka in the post-conflict situation and to consider future relations between the European Union and the country. Crucial here will be the question of bilateral trade and the recent suspension by the EU of Sri Lanka's priviliges under the GSP+ scheme. Among the speakers to address the meeting will be Dr. Christian Wagner from Berlin, a noted specialist on Sri Lankan politics and Mr. James Howard of the International Trade Union Confederation.
► Monday, 21st June 2010, 12.30h - 14.30h at EIAS
EIAS LUNCH BRIEFING
16th SAARC Summit To mark its Silver Jubilee Year, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) held its 16th Summit meeting in Thimphu, the Bhutanese capital, on 28th and 29th April 2010. The theme of the Summit was 'Towards a Green and Happy South Asia", with the emphasis on Climate Change, where a special Thimphu Statement on Climate Change was adopted. It was the first summit held in Bhutan.
Since SAARC was set up in 1985, between Bangaldesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, substantial progress has been made. A SAARC Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) was concluded in 1993, and this led on to the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), concluded in 2004. SAARC also has its own Development Fund for financing regional and sub-regional projects. The SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu and coordinates the work of the Association. Afghanistan was admitted as the eighth member of SAARC in 2007 and the organisation also has a number of observers, including the European Union. A notable aspect of the recent summit is an attempt to strengthen parliamentary cooperation amongst the member countries, which, hitherto, has been rather limited. Bangladesh has suggested the idea of a SAARC Charter of Democracy and the SAARC leaders recommended the convening of a "Conclave of SAARC Parliamentarians".
To mark this significant event, EIAS will organise a lunch briefing to take place on Monday, 21st June 2010. The speakers will be H.E. Mr. Ravinath Aryasinha, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union, representing the outgoing Chairman of SAARC, who will report on recent developments prior to the Thimphu Summit, and H.E. Mr. Sonam Tobden Rabgye, Ambassador of Bhutan in Brussels, who will report on the outcome of the 16th SAARC Summit and give his view of the prospects for further progress under Bhutan's chiarmanship. As usual, these addresses will be followed by an discussion. ► Wednesday, 30th June 2010, 12.30h - 17.00h at EIAS EU - KOREA BRIEFING SEMINAR The joint seminar between EIAS and the Korea-European Union Forum will consider the Republic of Korea's security position and its trade both with its Asian neighbours and the European Union. This meeting, chaired by Mr. Dick Gupwell, Vice-Chairman of EIAS will give the floor to Professor Emeritus Mane Heo of the Busan National University, who will speak on the "Two-Track Security Framework for the Korean Peninsula: EU's Security Cooperation", while Prof. Lee Kap-Soo of the same Institute, the Busan National University, will speak on "The Politics and Economics of the ASEAN+3 FTA: Comparison with the China-Japan Korea FTA". For EIAS, Mr. Glyn Ford will speak on the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement. |
||
|
|
|||
|
Copyright © European Institute for Asian Studies asbl 67 Rue de la Loi, 1040 Brussels/Belgium ♦ Tel.: 0032-(0)22308122 ♦ Fax: 0032-(0)22305402 Email: eias@eias.org ♦ Website: www.eias.org |
|||
