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Event Detail
| Date | Monday 21 May 2007 |
| From till | |
| Event Type | Talk & forum discussion |
| Organised by | |
| Topic | Europe in Asia: Partnerships & strategies |
| Location | KBC |
| Invite | Official Invitation |
| Description | EUROPE IN ASIA: Partnerships & strategies Talk by mr. Etienne Reuter, European Commission, Brussels Europe's links with Asia go back thousands of years. Alexander the Great, the silk road already operated with ancient Rome, Marco Polo, the Jesuits in China, Lord McCartney, the colonialists ... Reading newspapers, talking to politicians and business people confirms that China is at the centre of European policies, projects, endeavours and concerns in Asia. Historically China was always the biggest country in the world, both in terms of population and GDP, except for a period of decline in the last two centuries brought about by the decadence of its government and colonial predatory encroachment. The EU has forged a special relationship with China. It really started with the modernisation introduced by Deng Xiao Ping. For the EU the objective is to have China as an investment and trade partner, contributing to growth in Europe and as a responsible partner in world affairs, sharing international cooperation for stability and the preservation of the environment. The EU has a number of problems and issues with China ranging from trade disputes, counterfeiting and the arms embargo to human rights and the rule of law. This is a very important relationship, but on the other hand the EU has consistently developed privileged partnerships with other countries in Asia, Japan, Korea, the ASEAN countries, India and Pakistan. Etienne Reuter pursued a distinguished career in European organizations since 1967. First in the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and then at the European Commission in Brussels. Among other senior positions, he served as an Advisor to President of the European Commission, became the Commission's spokesman for the internal market, taxation and competition policies. From 1993 to 2000 Etienne Reuter was the EU representative in Hong Kong and spent 5 years at the EU delegation in Tokyo. This year he had the opportunity to train civil servants at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He experienced that civil servants in Asia are very professional and that the image of Europe towards Asia is different compared to what Europeans hope. Europe is quite busy internally, leadership is not always clear for the outer world and it looks divided with different opinions on world issues. On the other hand Europe is seen as a success story: no war, one currency, stability, peace and freedom and European policy is strengthening. So there is certainly interest from Asia to engage itself with Europe. As it looks increasingly likely that the Doha round will fail, the EU has agreed on a new strategy to conclude regional and bilateral Free Trade agreements in Asia. Knowing that agricultural items are always an issue and that some bilaterial FTA's in the past took more than 17 years, it might be a long way to go ... We thank KBC for its hospitality and Mr. Etienne Reuter for the interesting talk, followed by the discussion, leading sometimes to fascinating other angles and a nice networking afterwards. |
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