Remarks by President Charles Michel at the ASEAN Global Dialogue

• European Council
• Statements and remarks
• 13 November 2022
• 09:00

Remarks by President Charles Michel at the ASEAN Global Dialogue

Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,

Thank you, Prime Minister Hun Sen, for your invitation as a Guest of the Chair. And warm hospitality.

It's a pleasure to be the first President of the European Council to address the East Asia Summit.

Today the world faces immense challenges.

And these challenges have brought ASEAN and the European Union closer together.

Our upcoming EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit, in Brussels, on December 14th will be a historic occasion.

And a moment to celebrate 45 years of EU-ASEAN cooperation.

I will co-chair this Summit with our host today, Prime Minister Hun Sen.

It will also be a unique opportunity for ASEAN Leaders to engage directly with the 27 EU Leaders.

And to discuss important issues - like trade, connectivity, security, and the green and digital transition.

The ASEAN outlook and the EU's Strategy for Cooperation on the Indo-Pacific both share the same view of the Indo-Pacific region namely as one for dynamic growth and opportunities.

They also focus on important security challenges like maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region where we are working together to support connectivity and trade making critical maritime routes safer and more secure.

Today the great challenge to global stability and security is Russia's war against Ukraine.

It impacts us all, no matter where we live.

Russia - a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a member of G20 - is attacking the free and sovereign nation of Ukraine…

And it is trying to change internationally recognized borders by force. Directly attacking our rules based international order. And the UN Charter.

Dear friends,

Food and energy are used by the Kremlin as weapons of mass destabilization against Europe and the rest of the world, causing huge economic and social damage.

But it's also having dramatic global consequences, including right here in Asia.For nine months, the European Union has stood by Ukraine with steadfast unity.

And let me be clear, EU sanctions adopted against Russia do not target agriculture and food products. And they do not target the export of fertilisers from Russia.
Russia, on the other hand, has imposed restrictions on the export of its own foodstuffs. And even before they launched the war, imposed restrictions on fertilizers.

In the EU, we are working hard to address the global consequences of this war.We have mobilised financial support to address development and humanitarian needs.

We are expanding our policies with partners across the world, including here in Asia.

We remain fully committed to addressing the global food crisis.

By ensuring alternative transport routes to export Ukrainian cereals via the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes.

Thanks to the Black Sea Grain Initiative - and with special thanks to the leadership of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the amount of food shipped to vulnerable countries increases by the week.

Before the war, Ukraine exported 45 million tonnes of agricultural goods to the world. Via the EU's Solidarity lanes, we have managed to help Ukraine export 15 million tonnes; an additional 10 million have been exported thanks to the Black Sea Grain Initiative and it is indeed important that this initiative of UN Secretary General Guterres be prolonged.

Dear friends,

The European Union is responding decisively to Russia's energy attack by phasing out our dependence on Russian energy.

Diversifying our energy sources, speeding up renewables and bolstering our energy efficiency.

And we are working towards long-term partnerships - that include both gas and energy transition technologies, like green hydrogen.

Climate neutrality by 2050 remains our guiding compass.

And we have a special responsibility to help the developing world.

The EU will continue to pay its fair share in assisting countries to fight climate change. We provided over 23 billion euro in the last year alone.

Painful with consequences for people around the world.

We call on other developed countries to do the same and follow example.

Ladies and gentlemen,

ASEAN-EU energy cooperation goes back 45 years - through technical cooperation and political dialogue.

And we will have the EU-ASEAN Energy Dialogue at our ASEAN-EU Summit, in December.

This will promote policy dialogue, business and industry exchange, and greater cooperation in the energy sector.

In areas like renewable energy and efficiency, regional power integration, modernisation and digitalisation, energy security and decarbonisation, finance and investments, and the just energy transition.

The EU is working on a Sustainable Connectivity Package with ASEAN.

We are combining cooperation with ASEAN at the regional level with targeted action at the country level.

In sectors such as trade, energy, digital, transport, and People-to-People connectivity.

On energy, we will focus on the regional integration of electricity markets in the ASEAN region.

And our Green Team Europe Initiative - in Partnership with ASEAN - will support the region's transition to clean energy and energy efficiency.

In Southeast Asia - together with our G7 partners - we are concluding Just Energy Transition Partnerships with Vietnam and Indonesia. This will help them to transition from coal to renewables.

Dear friends,

The EU and ASEAN share a strong and strategic partnership.

In these turbulent times, more cooperation is crucial to overcoming our common challenges.

Together with you we believe in mutual respect, understanding and international law, and UN Charter.

We believe that the power of dialogue matters. That is why I sincerely appreciate your invitation to address you today.

I hope that this conversation between East Asia Summit and the EU will become more and more regular.

We have the power to transform and succeed. So, let's work together to build peace and prosperity and improve the lives of our citizens.

You can count on the European Union as a loyal and reliable partner.

Thank you.

Press contacts

Barend Leyts Spokesperson for the European Council President +32 486 22 68 65 +32 2 281 5150 @BarendLeyts

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