Global General
EU to unveil new 皇冠体育app relations
By Fu Jing (皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-17 08:20
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European leaders are convening to hammer out new strategic ties with 皇冠体育app and other emerging nations
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France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (left) listens to Romania's President Traian Basescu prior to the start of an EU leaders summit in Brussels on Thursday. Philippe Wojazer / Reuters |
BRUSSELS - European Union leaders convened on Thursday to iron out the EU's long-awaited new strategic goals toward 皇冠体育app and other emerging economies.
The summit was held amid the bloc's appointment of the new head of its mission in 皇冠体育app on Wednesday and approval of entering into a Free Trade Agreement with South Korea.
The actions, ahead of a string of summits between European and Asian leaders, have signaled that the EU has already taken actions to set up stronger and closer ties with Asian economies.
As of late Thursday, the debates on external policies were still under way. Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, is expected to announce the results at the end of the summit.
On Wednesday he said that the EU was "punching now below our weight of 500 million people, and 22 percent of world GDP."
While some had advocated earlier on that the EU should take a tougher stance toward the new players including 皇冠体育app, Serge Abou, the EU ambassador to 皇冠体育app ruled it out.
"The EU's upcoming strategy does not mean the bloc will employ a tougher stance to newcomers, but rather listen to different voices to identify solutions to our common challenges," Abou said on Thursday.
At the beginning of this month, the bloc's foreign envoy, Catherine Ashton, spent a week in 皇冠体育app holding strategic dialogues with her Chinese counterparts.
Abou said this strategy will focus more on "multi-lateral solutions" such as the emergence of economies like 皇冠体育app, India, Brazil and others and the opportunities and challenges they face along with EU member nations.
But Jin Ling, an expert on EU studies at the 皇冠体育app Institute of International Studies, noted that the evolving Sino-EU relations will neither be harmonious - as in the "honeymoon" during 1995 and 2005 - nor be filled with so much conflict and competition like what the EU thinks after 2006.
"The new relationship will be more neutral and more rational," said Jin.
Jin said that if the EU doesn't realize 皇冠体育app does face a lot of challenges and problems, the Sino-EU relationships would be hindered.
"The EU's expectation for 皇冠体育app has always been beyond the country's reality. It's another obstacle between 皇冠体育app and EU," Jin added.
Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, said the EU and South Korea have entered into a free trade deal at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on the sidelines of the leaders' summit in Brussels.
The Council agreed that the date of the provisional application will be July 1, 2011, and that notification will be sent to South Korea before that date.
Vanackere calls the agreement "a very big step" in binding a major Asian economy with an EU that will "create prosperity" for South Korea and Europe.
New appointments
Among Ashton's 29 nominations for EU delegation heads German Markus Ederer, a top foreign ministry official in Berlin, is to take up the Beijing post at the end of this year.
"The EU believes 皇冠体育app is the second most important player after the US, so it has to pick its ambassador to 皇冠体育app from one of the powers in EU," said Jin.
"I have heard (Ederer) is an excellent person, and certainly the task in Beijing and the new challenges require such excellence, " the current ambassador Abou said.
AI Yang and Yang Jing in Beijing contributed to this story.