Indonesia: Not a Priority in the European Union Bilateral FTA Negotiations with ASEAN

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.210531.031How to use a DOI?

Keywords

FTA, The European Union, ASEAN, Indonesia, Foreign Policy Theory

Abstract

This explains why Indonesia was not a priority for the European Union (EU) in negotiating a bilateral FTA (Free Trade Agreement). Qualitative analysis was used and data was collected in the form of books, articles, journalism, and official pages from relevant organizations. Foreign Policy theory was employed to define Indonesia’s status in regard to the EU. Using this theory, the internal and external factors of the EU were analyzed. The analysis revealed that Indonesia was indeed not a priority for the EU when bilateral FTA negotiations began in 2010. The EU internal factors demonstrate the fact that Indonesia is not popular in Europe; the EU had experienced a trade deficit with Indonesia; the EU was occupied with the election of the European Parliament; the EU conducted economic relations with many other countries in the world, hence it had to divide its priorities; and the EU’s perception of Indonesia related to environmental issues is also unfavorable. Whereas, there were also two external factors that greatly influenced the EU’s decision not to prioritize Indonesia. The first was the condition of Indonesia-EU economic relations and Indonesia’s domestic condition. Indonesia is not the EU’s primary trading partner in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The EU economic relations with other countries in ASEAN like Singapore and Malaysia are more significant than those with Indonesia. In terms of Indonesia’s domestic condition, Indonesia is not as competitive as other countries in ASEAN like Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. In terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), Indonesia is also behind Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, and Malaysia. Moreover, the policies and regulations issued by Indonesia in 2014 were also unfavorable for in terms of trade with the EU. Likewise, the investment climate in Indonesia is not more favorable than in Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. For Indonesia, the EU is equally not a priority target for cooperation because Indonesia is focusing on cooperation with countries in ASEAN and China. As an international actor, the EU is also less known in Indonesia.

Copyright

© 2021, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Zainab Assegaff
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/05/31
TI  - Indonesia: Not a Priority in the European Union Bilateral FTA Negotiations with ASEAN
BT  - Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Research in Social Sciences and Humanities Universitas Indonesia Conference (APRISH 2019)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 249
EP  - 256
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210531.031
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.210531.031
ID  - Assegaff2021
ER  -