The EU and ASEAN: Learning from the Failed Eu-Mercosur FTA Negotiations (Research NOTE‪)‬

I. Introduction On 4 May 2007, at a meeting held in Brunei Darussalam, ASEAN and the EU agreed to launch negotiations for a Free Trade Area (FTA) (ASEAN Economic Ministers and the European Union Trade Commissioner 2007). If the negotiations are successful, the FTA agreement will replace the 1980 ASEAN-EC Cooperation Agreement, revision of which had foundered in the 1990s on issues pertaining to human rights. The negotiations themselves will require a change in attitude on the part of ASEAN. For the first time, ASEAN will find itself in a situation where it will have to offer tangible concessions, such as tariff reductions, to the EU in return for access to the EU market.