EU - ASEAN: Council info and EU Publications

On this page you will find the main results of the first-ever summit between the leaders of EU and ASEAN member states to mark 45 years of diplomatic relations.

ASEAN and the EU convened the 23rd ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting on Tuesday, 1 December 2020 via video conference. The Meeting was co-chaired by Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, as Country Coordinator for ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell. The Meeting was attended by the Foreign Ministers or their representatives from all ASEAN Member States and 27 EU Member States, as well as the ASEAN Secretariat and European Commission.

The 22nd EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting brought together foreign ministers of the European Union and their counterparts from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

The Foreign Ministers of Member States of the European Union and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, the Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), gathered on 21 January 2019 in Brussels, Belgium, at the 22nd EU-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.

The Council approved conclusions on an EU strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, setting out the EU’s intention to reinforce its strategic focus, presence and actions in this region of prime strategic importance for EU interests. The aim is to contribute to regional stability, security, prosperity and sustainable development, at a time of rising challenges and tensions in the region.

The Council welcomes the outcome of the EU-ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in Brussels on 19 October 2018. The European Union has a genuine strategic interest in strengthening its relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and is determined to deepen relations in 2019 and underlines its support for ASEAN regional integration.

Microsite for the EU-ASEAN cooperation. Contains information on strategic partnerships, green growth, development cooperation, responding to COVID19 and events and opportunities.

The EU-ASEAN Blue Book, published annually, highlights ASEAN-EU cooperation as strategic partners in ensuring peace and security in the region, building sustainable connectivity, promoting free and fair trade, and supporting sustainable development in ASEAN.

Under this Plan of Action, ASEAN and the EU will pursue cooperation in conformity with their respective Member States’ obligations under international law, and in accordance with their respective Member States’ domestic laws, regulations and policies in the following areas.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/ Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell visited Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 3 to 5 August 2022 for the annual Ministerial Meeting between the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting, and for holding a number of bilateral meetings.

The 29th Meeting of the EU-ASEAN Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) was held via videoconference on Friday, 11 February 2022.

Information on how ASEAN and EU work together towards establishing an ASEAN Digital Index.

The Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (E-READI) is an EU-funded development cooperation programme that facilitates dialogue forums between the EU and ASEAN.

Search EUR-Lex for a complete list of EU legislation relating to ASEAN.

EU-ASEAN relations span more than four decades and have steadily deepened, building on common values as well as booming trade and investment. In 2020, the two sides upgraded to a strategic partnership. In the current environment of huge geopolitical challenges, both sides seem determined to take their bilateral cooperation to a higher level, as exemplified by the new plan of action (2023-2027), the first bilateral summit at leaders' level and the ongoing and intensifying cooperation between the European Parliament and the ASEAN member states' parliaments. This briefing updates a previous one published in November 2021.

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This policy brief develops the argument for strengthening cooperation between the EU and Southeast Asia in the field of digital connectivity and considers the added value of working with Japan as a like-minded partner in this part of the Indo-Pacific.

This Indo-Pacific Strategy lays out five crucial security issues in the region that directly affect the EU’s own security and prosperity. These are maritime security, nuclear security and non-proliferation, cyber security, trafficking, and terrorism. In order to deal with these security issues, the EU has CSDP missions and the CSDP toolbox at its disposal.

2017 is a special year for both EU and ASEAN: it marks the 60th anniversary of EU, the 50th anniversary of ASEAN and the 40th anniversary of the EU-ASEAN dialogue relations. The ASEAN–EU dialogue relations rely on good quality statistics to analyse the situation at the time and identify the most appropriate policies to progress towards common goals.

Marking the 40th anniversary of the start of their dialogue ASEAN and the EU have agreed to work towards establishing a strategic partnership. To be strategic the partnership must embrace all aspects, from trade to energy, from climate change to security issues, from human rights to sustainable development. Deepening and enhancing relations between one of the most dynamic regions in the world and the largest and most affluent market will bring important benefits to both European and ASEAN citizens. Finally, the study argues that strengthening the parliamentary dimension of the relationship would, besides supporting representative democracy in Southeast Asia, contribute to maintaining the momentum launched in 2012.

The present study provides an overview of ASEAN’s environmental and economic importance, both globally and for the EU, and assesses the potential environmental and economic benefits that could accrue to the EU from strengthening cooperation with ASEAN in the field of environment. Specific attention is given to Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, for which country studies are presented