Ms Sol Iglesias (3rd from left), Director of ASEF’s Intellectual Exchange Department addresses
participants during the Roundtable
In spite of links to Asia forged through economic, political, social and cultural partnerships, the understanding of the EU in this region remains rudimentary. These findings served as the impetus for the organisation of the “Stakeholders” Roundtable: How should the EU package itself to Asia?”.
The Roundtable, held on 9 April 2010 at the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels, brought together opinion leaders from academia, the EU institutions, the media sector and Brussels-based think tanks. They discussed the visibility of the EU throughout Asia and examined EU external relations policy. The meeting was an initiative of the co-organisers of the Europe-Asia Policy Forum (EUforAsia), a consortium consisting of ASEF, the International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS) based in the Netherlands and the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) in cooperation with the EPC.
The Roundtable drew on the findings of the EU through the Eyes of Asia, a unique research project that examines attitudes and citizens’ perceptions of the EU in Asia. An ongoing initiative of ASEF and the National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE), the study’s findings were further enhanced by presentations drawing on regional expertise from ASEAN, East Asia, and South Asia. These examined the relationships that drove perceptions of the EU throughout Asia. Dr Natalia Chaban, Deputy Director of the NCRE presented the findings of the study to the participants.
The outcomes of discussions form the basis for a Policy Brief written by Dr Sebastian Bersick of the German Council for Foreign Relations (DGAP).
Listen to Dr Chaban’s lecture