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W ho speaks for the

European Union?

by Malcolm Subhan

Well, who does? Henry Kissinger, in that thrice-toldtale, famously wanted to know the number to callwhen he wanted to speak to the person running theEuropean Community. The present Secretary of State,Colin Powell, can always call the European UnionsHigh Representative for Common Foreign andSecurity Policy, Javier Solana, and the EuropeanCommissioner for External Relations, Chris Patten.The White House certainly has the number of thecurrent holder of the EUs rotating presidency, whilethe leaders of the two Houses of Congress knowwhere to reach Pat Cox, who heads the European

Parliament.

There is clearly no shortage of official channels ofcommunication across the Atlantic. Nor across Asia.Meetings between European and Asian presidents andprime ministers are an annual event, with no fewerthan 25 of these worthies coming together every twoyears in a display of solidarity, modestly entitled theAsia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Their foreignministers can be glimpsed moving between thevarious Asian and European capitals, while meetingsbetween their officials, such as the crypticallydesignated SOMs, are too numerous for anyone to

keep track of.

All this to-ing and fro-ing serves a useful purpose.But it has tended to overshadow another set ofmeetings, those between representatives of Europeanand Asian civil society. Of course there are not manysuch meetings. Which is rather surprising, given thatEuropean civil society has had a role in the decision-shaping process since 1958, through the EuropeanEconomic and Social Committee (EESC). The mainpurpose of this consultative body, which bringstogether representatives of economic, social and civicorganisations, is to advise the three key Brussels-

based EU institutions the Council of Ministers, theEuropean Commission and the European Parliament.

IN SIDE TH IS ISSUE

EDITORIALWho speaks for the European Union? 1

VIEWPOINTEU-India CSP a disappointment 3

by Pushpendra

Local government in India and China 5by George Mathews

EU-ASIA NEWSEU-Iran relations 8

by Nawab Khan

ALA Regulation proposal likely to be rejected 9Slow but steady progress with ESDP 10

by John Quigley

EU development co-operation 11

INSIDE ASIAEU and ASEAN address Korean tension 12Japan and the war in Iraq 14

by Axel Berkofsky

Chinese PLA delegation in Brussels 16Interview: PLA Naval Captain Yang Yi 19

by Roberta Zavoretti

US-LED WAR ON IRAQThe economic impact of the Iraq war on Asia 20

by Sushanta MallickIraq war: economic consequences for Asia 21by Willem van der Geest

General Discussion 24

EU-ASIA TRADEThe EUs GSP after 2004 25

by Ralph KamphnerBangladesh in the GSP 27

by Malcolm Subhan

Is Europe losing out in trade with China? 28by Duncan Freeman

Trading with Asia: 1958 to 2001 30

by Willem van der Geest

Vol. 7 # 3March 2003

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Representatives of European and Asian civil societyorganisations do meet each other on their own, ofcourse. They come together during the EU-Asiasummit meetings, for example, in an attempt to upsetthe even tenor of those meetings. But given thestrength and diversity of civil society organisations, in

Europe as well as Asia, their voices must be heard byEuropean and Asian decision-makers. Not as voicesoff, but as part of the official debate on key issues inEU-Asia relations.

There is the obvious danger that if you include civilsociety organisations in the decision-shaping process,they will become part of the Establishment. TheEuropean Trade Commissioner, Pascal Lamy, mayhave pointed the way recently, when he travelled toNew Delhi to speak at the 20th anniversarycelebrations of a well-known Indian non-governmental organisation, the Consumer Unity and

Trust Society. CUTS has brought together Europeanand Indian economists to prepare working papers onissues that are on the agenda of the ministerialmeeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), tobe held in Cancun, Mexico, in September. Thesepapers are aimed expressly at Mr. Lamy and theIndian Commerce Minister, not at other academics.

The EU-India Round Table was perhaps the firstsuccessful attempt to bring civil society into theofficial, decision-shaping process. It was conceived bya former Indian foreign minister, who persuadedCommissioner Patten to support it. The decision to set

up the Round Table was taken at the first EU-IndiaSummit, held in Lisbon in 2000. The Round Tablemet for the first time in January, 2001, in New Delhi.It held its fifth meeting in Bangalore in March, 2003.This is a remarkable achievement in itself. The no lessimportant EU-India Think Tank Network has yet tosee the light of day, although it, too, was given the go-ahead by the Lisbon Summit.

The membership of the Round Table is broadlyrepresentative of organised Indian and European civilsociety. Its 15 European members are drawn from theranks of the Economic and Social Committee, as

proposed by Commissioner Patten. The Indianmembers are drawn from business organisations, atrade union, academia, the media and non-governmental organisations. In the long-establishedIndian tradition of round tables, they are eminentpersons as much as representatives of theorganisations they come from. Their numberstherefore include a retired diplomat and a retired civilservant.

Under its Terms of Reference, drawn up by officials ata meeting of the Indian and EU foreign ministers,enjoys the privilege of having direct access to the

highest level of Government/EU institutions. Itsspecific recommendations are non-binding inputs

for decision-making by the Government of India andthe European Institutions. And this seems to behappening. The EU-India Summit, held inCopenhagen in October, 2002, welcomed theconsiderable progress achieved in enhancing adialogue between civil societies and the

recommendations of the 4th

meeting of the EU-IndiaRound Table. Its Agenda for Action called for themobilisation of the resources needed to promoteautonomous civil society interaction and thepreparation of a joint report on the appropriatefollow-up to the recommendations tabled by the EU-India Round Table, for the New Delhi Summit inNovember 2003.

One of the recommendations to the New DelhiSummit is for the setting up of an EU-India civilsociety Forum on the Internet. The Forum will make itpossible for the broad spectrum of European and

Indian civil society organisations to contribute to thediscussions taking place at the Round Table. Theirinput should ensure that its recommendations arebased on a broad range of opinion and experience,thus adding to their credibility and effectiveness.

Inaugurating the Round Table in New Delhi, the thenIndian Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh, urged itsmembers to act free of the confines of officialdom.Commissioner Chris Patten reminded them that civilsociety has a very valuable advantage: it can discussall issues, even those considered sensitive bypoliticians. Since then the Round Table has embarkedon a constructive dialogue on sensitive issues. At itsBangalore session it discussed human rights in theworkplace, for example, and has undertaken to thereturn to the subject at its next session.

The EU-India Round Table is likely to result insimilar Round Tables with other Asian countries. TheEESC has already contacted with the Chinese Socialand Economic Council; similar initiatives may wellfollow.