European Union and ASEAN to Work Together on Myanmar Crisis

VIVA – A member of the European Parliament, David McAllister, has said that the European Union (EU) supports the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to overcome the Myanmar crisis. It means the EU and ASEAN will work together on Myanmar’s problems.

"We hope that this effort will bear fruit so that Myanmar can exit from the political crisis. The military junta should implement the five-point consensus (5PC)," David McAllister told the press in Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Three of the five points in question are an immediate end to violence in Myanmar, a dialogue between all relevant parties, and ASEAN's distribution of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.

Meanwhile, two other points are the appointment of the ASEAN special envoy for Myanmar and the envoy's visit to Myanmar to meet all parties.

ASEAN has agreed to support Indonesia, this year's rotating chair, in its effort to push for the implementation of the five-point framework. After that, McAllister noted that ASEAN is the EU's third largest trading partner after the United States and China.

He added that European companies are the second largest investors in ASEAN countries.

ASEAN, which was founded in 1967, has 10 member countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Last year, the European Investment Bank (EIB) opened a representative office in Jakarta to increase activities in the Southeast Asia and Pacific region.

"EIB prioritizes financing for climate action, urban transport, health care, energy security, and sustainable infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia," McAllister explained.

"The EU is also supporting ASEAN, and in particular Indonesia, in implementing a shift to greener and cleaner energy," he said.

In November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia together with the EU and the International Partners Group (IPG) launched the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) of 20 billion euros (around Rp323 billion).

JETP for Indonesia aims to achieve a fair energy transition for workers and society, especially those who are most affected by the energy transition from coal, as well as to carry out efforts to develop renewable energy.