February 11, 2011
Source: Secretariat General du Conseil - Unité Politique
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Outline for an
Intensified Political Dialogue Bruxelles, le 7 mars 2007 Background In December 2006 EU Member States concluded that the bilateral, regional and international agenda are substantial enough to allow a solid agenda for dialogue between the EU and Indonesia. Given the increasing importance of Indonesia as a regional and global player, the EU should look into ways of further strengthening the dialogue, commensurate with the weight of an important, maturing partner. The GAERC of October 2004 defined Indonesia as a “major partner” of the EU. The EU and Indonesia have converging interests on a wide range of issues, notably in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The EU-Indonesia foreign and security policy relationship would be greatly enhanced by a more structured political dialogue. Analysis EU Member States shared the analysis that Indonesia has undergone impressive and fast change. The strong commitment of the Government of Indonesia to greater regional/international engagement was very impressive. Equally, the EU-Indonesia relationship has been on a steep rise. The EU contribution to the Aceh peace process was the most visible output of constructive political EU engagement. AMM generated a genuine momentum in the relationship between the EU and Indonesia, ensuring regular access and contacts unto the highest levels. According to EU’s estimates there was a real risk that the intensity of EU-Indonesia meetings would significantly decrease once the AMM as such was no longer part of the agenda. In order to keep this current momentum and to help transform the EU- Indonesia relationship into a mature one, the interfaces for dialogue needed to be increased. Therefore, it was deemed advisable to structure the existing dialogue. Proposals The annual Ministerial Meeting should remain the prime high-level focus of the EU-Indonesia political dialogue. The increasingly important political aspects of the relationship such as democratisation, rule of law, terrorism, human rights, security sector reform, situation in the provinces should be regularly and adequately addressed therein. However, a regular dialogue structure can directly feed into the annual Ministerial Meeting, thus alleviating the quality of the exchange. EU is therefore proposing Indonesia to intensify the dialogue along three strands: bilateral issues, global issues, regional issues. 1. Bilateral Issues Trade and investment remain a cornerstone of the EU-Indonesia relationship, in particular in view of a possible start of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN countries. Major cooperation priorities shall be education, improving the investment climate, strengthening law enforcement and good governance, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Those issues are already addressed in the existing dialogue format, the regular meeting of Senior Officials (SOM), and will be accommodated by the future structure of the upcoming PCA (Joint Committee). Environmental issues and energy are of particular importance in Indonesia’s current context and high on the EU agenda. These should continue to have a permanent place in EU-Indonesia exchanges, including under the new PCA. A separate issue is the wish expressed by Indonesia to come to a human rights dialogue with the EU. This is a very important step which is widely welcomed by the EU. Our side is eagerly awaiting a formal invitation from Indonesia, restating its wish for a human rights dialogue and outlining its thinking on how such a dialogue should be conducted. 2. Global Issues Indonesia has recently emerged as a player on global issues like fran, the Middle-East and UN- reforms. On top of that a lot of global themes and concerns (i.e. energy, climate change, interfaith dialogue, effective multilateralism, human rights, non-proliferation, terrorism) touch directly upon core Indonesian interests. The EU has recognised that Indonesia has become a global player. Therefore, we would like to introduce an annual meeting of Political Directors (in troika-format on the EU-side) to cover important points of the global agenda. Our suggestion is that this meeting takes place in the semester preceding the annual Ministerial Meeting. 3. Regional Issues Indonesia is the most important regional player whose development and attitude has crucial influence on the regional integration prospects of ASEAN. Indonesia has moreover become more and more involved in Asian matters beyond South-East Asia (DPRK, EAS, ARF). This new assertive role is also in the EU’s interest. Furthermore, attention is called towards the growing importance of Indonesia’s relationship with China and India. EU would therefore advocate the holding of regular Asia Directors meeting (again: in troika-format for the EU-side). If rightly timed these meetings can converge with any of the big meetings regarding Asia, of which the EU is part, for instance in the context of ARF, ASEAN or ASEM. Regional Directors Meetings like this would greatly enhance EU’s and Indonesia’s capabilities to (a) exchange messages beforehand, and (b) to seek closer coordination before such meetings.
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