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EU can become an example for AEC, says envoy

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the European Union’s enlargement on May 1, EU Ambassador to Indonesia Olof Skoog said that ASEAN could learn from the EU enlargement when establishing the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) next year

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Wed, May 7, 2014

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EU can become an example for AEC, says envoy

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o commemorate the 10th anniversary of theEuropean Union'€™s enlargement on May 1, EU Ambassador to Indonesia Olof Skoogsaid that ASEAN could learn from the EU enlargement when establishing the ASEANEconomic Community (AEC) next year. 

The AEC will be a similar regional integration as the EU and will commence in 2015. It will enable the rapid movement of goods, services and people within the region.

"No other region in history has been as successful or comparable in the integration of a region for building peace and stability. Having said that, it is still very much a work in progress," he said in his opening speech at the University of Indonesia (UI), Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Skoog, who is also EU ambassador to Brunei Darussalam and ASEAN, said that although there had been several obstacles since the EU started expanding, both deepening and integrating more members was an important feat that the AEC could follow. 

He added that by integrating economies, conflicts between EU member states had been minimized because of the transparency and interdependency between states. 

"I think this is important for you, future leaders of Indonesia, and future leaders of ASEAN ['€¦] I don't doubt that ASEAN can develop as well as the European Union has in the next 20 years," he said. 

EU enlargement started in 2004 and has boosted the number of member states from 15 to 25 in just 10 years. Croatia, which joined in 2013, was the latest country to become a member state, making the EU the world's biggest single market. 

The EU has been ASEAN's second-largest trading partner, with total trade in goods and services in 2011 being worth up to 206 billion euros (US$286 billion). Furthermore, ASEAN is the EU's fifth-largest trading destination. (fss)

 

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