EU says ASEAN free-trade talks not threatened by Myanmar crackdown
BRUSSELS (AFP) — A crackdown on pro-democracy protestors in ASEAN member Myanmar does not threaten to derail talks between the Asian bloc and the EU over a new free-trade pact, a European Commission spokesman said Tuesday.
"The situation in Burma should not in any way contaminate the talks we are having with the other ASEAN members," Commission spokesman for trade issues Peter Power told AFP.
"It's quite clear that we will not conclude an agreement with Burma so long as the current regime remains in power," he added.
The 27-nation European Union launched free-trade talks with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) earlier this year and the discussions are not expected to be wrapped up before at least another year.
Power explained that because ASEAN countries did not have common import tariffs the EU would in effect have to negotiate individually with each country and therefore Myanmar could be left out of an agreement.
Earlier Tuesday, British member of the European Parliament Glyn Ford said in Singapore that the crackdown in Myanmar had made it impossible for the EU to sign any free trade agreement that included military-run Myanmar.
The junta's move to quell the protests, which were led by Buddhist monks, killed at least 13 people and led to hundreds of arrests over the past week.
An ASEAN-EU free-trade zone would cover nearly one billion people and be one of the world's largest. Two-way trade totalled 137 billion US dollars in 2005.
Prior to the junta's crackdown, the US and European nations already had tough economic sanctions in place, banning most investment and trade with Myanmar.
After the crackdown began, the EU said it would reinforce those sanctions.
The European Commission holds authority for negotiating trade agreements on behalf of the EU's 27 members.
