Page 18 - EU_ASEN Relations: Perspectives From Malaysia

in the Resolution which firstly involves the development of a new, single

certification scheme for palm oil and palm oil products by 2020. The second
involves phasing out and replacing palm oil used in biofuels with EU-grown

vegetable oils by 2020 (Singapore Institute of International Affairs, 2017).

If enforced, ASEAN member countries, namely Malaysia and Indonesia will

be significantly affected. The EU palm oil market accounts for 17 percent (4.37
million tonnes) and 13 percent (2.09 million tonnes) of Indonesian and

Malaysian palm oil exports respectively. The livelihoods of numerous

communities within ASEAN that depend on palm oil will be affected. These
include migrant workers from Myanmar who work on palm oil plantations, as

well as Indonesian and Malaysian smallholders who contribute about 40
percent to the global palm oil production (Singapore Institute of International

Affairs, 2017).

Following this potential development, Malaysia sent a delegate to the

European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg to hold a discussion with the EU
Commissioner for the Environment, Karmenu Vella, and two Members of the

European Parliament (MEPs), Syed Kamall and Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White.

During the meetings, Malaysian delegates expressed commitment to ensure
that Malaysia would remain as the world’s sustainable palm oil cultivation,

particularly through the recent decision made by the Malaysian Government in

making it mandatory for the Malaysian palm oil producers and processors to
adopt the Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, targeted to be

achieved by the end of 2019. The effort was welcomed by Karmenu Vella and
two MEPs (Mah, 2017).

EU investments in ASEAN

The EU is by far the largest investor in ASEAN countries accounting for 22%
of total FDI inflows in the region. EU companies have invested an average of

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