Event Report by Lauren Faust

On May 31, a panel discussion chaired by Professor Philomena Murray, EU Centre Research Director on Regional Governance, analysed EU foreign policy and security relations with Asia and Australia while also launching the LSE Ideas Special Report – Changing Waters: Towards a new EU Asia Strategy in Australia.

In recent years, the EU has negotiated a number of free trade agreements (FTAs) with Asian countries, such as with South Korea in 2010 and Singapore in 2014. These FTAs underscore the ambitions the EU has in furthering economic partnerships in Asia while seeking to promote human rights and democracy, yet despite these efforts, the EU has also been criticised for sacrificing normative values for trade interests when negotiating with several Asian countries.

While the EU recognises and pursues economic opportunities in Asia, the EU’s role as a security actor (and not a military actor like the US) affects the EU’s ability to cooperate with Asia on important global security issues, such as nuclear proliferation and territorial conflicts. Although it aims to provide added value in talks on global security, the EU faces many challenges in promoting its security strategy in Asia.

The EU-ASEAN relation appears to be founded in both economic and security objectives, however, in the latter instance, this is an asymmetrical relationship. Cooperation over transnational challenges such as the global migration crisis highlight the necessity of EU and ASEAN members to learn from each other when seeking to resolve such issues.

The EU views Australia as an important, yet unconventional partner in Asia, a consequence of its colonial past and strong alliances with the West. Australia is a self-purporting expert in Asian political, economic and security issues, but what unique expertise and insights can it really offer the EU? Goals and priorities between Australia and the EU also diverge, with Australia desiring pragmatic outcomes for their relationship, expressed by a comprehensive Framework Agreement potentially to be signed in 2016 and current negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement, whereas the EU looks for greater cooperation to pursue its normative values, in particular on policies on climate change.