Asean, EU agree to launch FTA
Afp, Singapore
Southeast Asian states and the European Union agreed Friday to launch free trade negotiations, setting aside differences over alleged human rights violations in army-ruled Myanmar, officials said. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson reached the agreement with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) economic ministers during a meeting in Brunei, Asean Secretary General Ong Keng Yong told AFP. "Yes, we agreed to launch the Asean -EU free trade negotiations," Ong said from the Brunei capital Bandar Seri Begawan. "We will set up a joint working committee to follow through this announcement ... The understanding is that we are talking to the EU as a group of 10 member countries and Myanmar is a member of Asean. No one will be excluded from the negotiating process. " An Asean -EU free trade zone will cover nearly one billion people and is potentially one of the largest in the world. Two-way trade totalled 137 billion US dollars in 2005. Renate Nikolay, a member of Mandelson's cabinet said the agreement marked an important step in Asean-EU ties, which have been strained by European concerns over political repression and human rights violations in Asean member Myanmar. The EU last month extended its sanctions against the military regime there for another year.
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