Can the EU be a serious security actor in Asia?

Following the US “pivot” to Asia, the European Union (EU) announced its own pivot to Asia in 2012 with stepped-up engagement. A flurry of high-level visits to Asia, and in particular, Southeast Asia, by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy followed. The EU is looking for a much more comprehensive engagement of Asia, but at the same time, within Asia; there is always this nagging doubt as to whether the EU can be a serious security actor in Asia. This short brief surveys the constructive role that the EU can play in Asia and argues that the EU should stop fretting about whether it is seen as a serious security actor in Asia and instead focus on what it can do best and do its best in Asia.     

New Zealand and the Asia–Europe Meeting

This article considers New Zealand’s accession to the Asia–Europe Meeting, considering both its formal path to membership and the evolving calculus by which its views of the process were structured, focusing on elements such as the enabling context provided by a change of national government in 2008, the impact of the global financial crisis and the position of Australia. Drawing on a set of interviews undertaken within the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, it goes on to examine perceived benefits of the Asia–Europe Meeting for New Zealand, and the extent to which these have been achieved. Finally, it addresses the issue of a New Zealand ASEM strategy, outlining potential areas for future engagement.     

EU perceptions in Northeast Asia: a cross-national comparative study of press coverage and citizens’ opinion

This study provides a unique and innovative comparative investigation of the press coverage and citizens’ opinion towards the European Union (EU) and its bilateral relations with the three most important Northeast Asian countries, People’s Republic of China, Japan and South Korea. On the basis of media content analysis of mainstream national newspapers and opinion surveys of the general public and elite stakeholders, the analysis explores the extent to which media agenda and framing, the shared interests between the EU and the respective country, and social and personal connections influence citizens’ opinions of the EU and its bilateral relations in these three countries.     

ASEM’s role for co-operation on security in Asia and Europe

This article argues that the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process of multidimensional dialogue plays a prominent role in addressing issues of transnational security in both regions mainly in the field of soft and non-traditional security affairs. Furthermore, this significance and effectiveness of ASEM as a tool for mutually enhancing security could be further enhanced through such measures as greater co-operation between the UN and regional organizations, greater complementary efforts from Civil Society, pro-active engagement of ASEM in a changing security environment, greater convergence with other regional security groupings, opening of avenues for track 2 contributions, and heightened consistency in the commitment of the European Union to the process. Despite questions and challenges that ASEM may face, ASEM is now a clear reference in Europe and in Asia – and in Southeast Asia in particular-for security issues.This text reflects the personal views of the author.     

Clutching at the apron strings? New Zealand’s relationship with the EU and the possible consequences for ASEM

The Asia–Europe Meeting forum (ASEM) was established as a mechanism to facilitate meaningful connections and dialogue between Asia and Europe. In 2010, a new chapter in European–Asian relations is being embarked upon. Standing on the brink of Asia, New Zealand and Australia (alongside Russia) are set to join ASEM. Of the three countries set to join ASEM, New Zealand presents a particular case. Traditionally, New Zealand has been seen as the most British of its former colonies, but it is increasingly both viewed and identifies itself as Asian. Using public opinion surveys and media content analysis conducted in 2009, this article demonstrates that New Zealanders continue to feel a strong connection with Britain which in turn influences its perceptions of the EU. Furthermore, New Zealand’s increasing Asian links, coupled with its Commonwealth connections and British heritage, has the potential to positively influence events at ASEM.     

A partnership postponed? Japan–EU cooperation in conflict resolution in East Asia

Asia Europe Journal - This paper explores reasons for the (un)willingness of the European Union (EU) to cooperate with its external partners such as Japan in promoting regional integration and...     

The Emperor’s new clothes? Perceptions of the EU’s strategic partnerships in Asia

Asia Europe Journal - In order to adapt to a changing global order, the European Union (EU) has established an important mechanism for cooperating with some of the world’s most influential...     

Civil security in the EU: national persistence versus EU ambitions?

Noting that European Union (EU) institutions are increasingly engaged in civil protection in the member states, security governance is used as an analytical framework to assess the depth of EU engagement in delivering civil security. It is shown that a state-centric approach is no longer adequate to understand the provision of civil security across Europe. To varying degrees, the EU has acquired responsibilities to facilitate, coordinate, manage, and regulate civil security, whether before or after a civil crisis occurs. The analysis demonstrates that, whilst intergovernmental practices and inter-state cooperation remain salient features of civil security, the responsibilities undertaken by the EU institutions across the entire policy spectrum are more substantial than a strictly intergovernmental perspective would suggest.     

Cooling the earth? The changing priorities of EU–Asia technology cooperation

External crises such as the Bird Flu epidemic, as well as severe environmental problems, are changing overall attitudes towards research in human health and the environment. At present, the EU is putting pressure on developing countries in Asia and elsewhere to increase their environmental capacities and put forward methods of environmental management that support innovation and competitiveness. They are also being encouraged to participate in the Kyoto protocol and Bali processes on climate change. This paper aims to address the current issues faced by the EU in promoting environmentally friendly technologies in Southeast Asia, as well as to examine the opportunities for technological cooperation between Europe and Asia. It will use Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam—some of the EU’s chosen recipients of official development assistance in the region—as case studies, in order to examine how these countries implement policies that incorporate environmental technology strategies designed to promote sustainable development. It will also attempt to identify the type of actions that are being pursued by their respective governments, with the support of the EU and its member states. Finally, the paper will suggest which types of environmentally friendly technologies and best practice could be transferred from Europe to Southeast Asia, and to the wider Asian region. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the ‘EU–Asia Relations: A Critical Review’ conference at the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence at the University of Melbourne, 27–28 March 2008. I would like to express my gratitude to the conference participants for their comments and suggestions.

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Impression about the visit in America

AttheinvitationoftheAsiaFoundationoftheUnit鄄edStates,CAFIU'sthree-memberteamheadedbySecretary-GeneralXuJianguopaidavisittoU.S.from4-11November熏2003.ArrangedbytheAmer鄄icanside熏thedelegationengagedintheextensivecontactswiththeAsiaFoundation,theWorldAf鄄fairsCouncil熏UniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeley熏UnitedNationsAssociationoftheUSA,CouncilonForeignRelations熏EastAsianInstituteoftheColumbiaUniversity,″Newsday″EditorialDepart鄄ment熏SisterCitiesProgramofthecityofNewYork,Ame…     

EU perceptions through the FTA lens: main results of interviews among the Korean “elites”

The Korea–EU relations have undergone a substantive change during the last two decades. The bilateral Framework Agreement, which was first signed in 1996 and updated in 2009, has upgraded the bilateral relationship to a considerable extent. The common membership of Korea and the EU to the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) has also expanded and deepened the channels of official contacts between the two parties. Among these factors, the Korea–EU FTA Agreement, which was initialed in October 2009, appears to have the potential to affect the relationship most strongly. The results of elites’ interviews conducted during September 2009–April 2010 largely verifies this in a number of interesting aspects. Especially, most of the Korean elites perceive the Korea–EU FTA as an opportunity to maximize the effects arising from “the expanded markets”, “reduced market risks” and “harmonized European business practices leading to reduced transactions costs”. This also has had substantially positive impact on their perception of the EU’s importance to Korea.     

Explaining the European Parliament’s gains in the EU Constitution

The Constitutional Treaty, like each set of reforms since the Single European Act, would constitute another incremental increase in the European Parliament’s powers. But the Parliament did not get everything it wanted. What we do in this paper is investigate why the European Parliament tends to ‘win’ in some areas but not in others. We consider five possible explanations and test these theories by looking at the issues the Parliament promoted in the constitutional negotiations and the factors that determined whether the Parliament was successful or not in a particular area. We find that the Parliament gains power in areas where the governments delegate new powers to the EU and are uncertain about the consequences of this delegation. We also find that public support for the Parliament played a role in the extension of the Parliament’s powers in the Constitution.

Referendums in the EU’s constitution building process

In ten member states of the European Union (EU) the new constitutional treaty was supposed to be ratified by referendum. A growing number of theoretical models predicts that such additional ratification hurdles result in an advantage for negotiators in the bargaining game. The impact such a referendum constraint can exert, however, depends on the timing of its announcement, the remaining ratification rules as well as the preference constellations. If parliament and voters are actually in favor of the new treaty, ratification constraints may cease to affect the bargaining outcome. After presenting the theoretical foundation of these arguments, we present empirical evidence much in line with the theoretical implications. More specifically, especially for the issues changed during the intergovernmental conference, those governments gained that had scheduled a referendum and voters had a stronger preference for the status quo.

CAFIU Held its 9~(th) Council Meeting in Beijing

ChineseAssociationforInternationalUnderstanding(CAFIU)heldits9thCouncilMeetinginBeijingonJune30,2003.Mr.LiChengren,ExecutiveVice-PresidentofCAFIUmadeareportontheAssociation'sworksincethe8thCouncilMeeting.Anewleadingbodywaselectedatthemeeting.PresidentLiGuixianwasreelectedcon-secutively.AnamendmenttotheAssociation'sConstitutionwasapproved.Mr.WangJiarui,MinisteroftheInternationalDepartmentofCPCCentralCommitteewaspresent.MinisterWangmadeaspeechandextendedcongratulations.Thedetai…     

Summary of the 5~(th) Northeast Asian Youth Forum

At the invitation of MRA/lnitiatives of Change（IC）- Korea, Mrs. Luo Yi, Council Member of CAFIU attended the 5^th Northeast Asian Youth Form in Seoul from September 26-31, 2008. The main theme of the Forum is ＂Peace and Development of Northeast Asia in the Global Society＂ aiming at promoting exchange and mutual understanding among the youth of China, Japan and Republic of Korea and fostering a sense of historical mission to build regional harmony and cooperation. There were more than 60 University students Mr. Li from three countries attending the Forum. Chengren, Executive Vice-President of CAFIU sent a message of congratulation to the Forum. As one of the main theme speakers,     

Ethnic and Religious Conflicts in Asia and the Pacific

Backgrounds and Features According to recent annual reports by both Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and Londonbased International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), twenty to thirty armed conflicts and local wars in various forms take place every year in the world since the 1990s, and of     

EU’s strategic partnership with Asian countries: an introductory article for the special issue

Asia Europe Journal -