Page 33 - EU_ASEN Relations: Perspectives From Malaysia

The EU─ASEAN Socio-Cultural Cooperation

by Sameer Kumar

Abstract

While the other two communities of ASEAN—the ASEAN Political-Security
Community (APSC) and ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), stress
political and economic cooperation respectively, the ASEAN Socio-Cultural
Community (ASCC) reflects on the ASEAN’s social agenda of poverty
eradication and human advancement. Since the last 40 years, EU has been a
strategic partner of ASEAN supporting its community building process.
Keeping ASCC as the central actor, this paper looks into the past, present and
future of ASEAN-EU Socio-Cultural cooperation, as evidenced through
Blueprints, Plan for Action, and other policy documents. A section is devoted
to the Malaysia-EU relations. This chapter is concluded by looking at some of
the recent challenges the ASCC is facing and possible ways these could be
addressed.

Introduction

The association of EU (originally EEC, then EC) and ASEAN have come a

long way since 1977, when their relations were formalized at the ministerial
level. Today, there is a deepened existing cooperation and enhanced dialogue

in addition to expanded financial support. An increasing number of citizens
from both regions travel between them for cultural, business, academic, and

other reasons. Although ASEAN Socio-Cultural community is fairly new in its

conceptualization, it remains an important agenda item in ASEAN-EU
cooperation. ASCC adds a ‘human’ component to the ASEAN community by

committing itself to improve the quality of life through people-oriented,
people-centric activities that are environmentally friendly and geared towards

the promotion of sustainable development. Being the two major regional

organisations in the world, the EU and ASEAN share ‘a common DNA’ and
are thus considered to be natural partners (EEAS, 2017b). Both these

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