New Asean, EU group to aid PH

MANILA, Philippines—The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines will leverage on its participation in the recently formed European Union-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business Council to facilitate more business with members of the European Union.

In a statement last Friday, ECCP president Hubert D’Aboville said the new group would serve as an important conduit for business between the two major regional blocs.

The EU-Asean Business Council was formed at the 1st EU-Asean Business Summit in Jakarta. Apart from ECCP, other European business organizations included in the group are those from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The group will establish a senior-level “peer network” of business representatives that will then allow individual members of European business organizations in the Asean to bring their business interests to the fore.

It will likewise serve as a venue to interface with relevant institutions in both the EU and Asean, as well as for dialogues with other businesses.

“I see this initiative as a step forward to enhancing the business dialogue between both regions and contributing to advocate European business interests in the Asean region,” European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht said.

The EU sees Asean as a major market, considering the $218.13 billion in trade between the two blocs last year. Also in 2010, EU firms invested $14.54 billion in Asean.