As the Indo-Pacific becomes one of the central arenas of global geopolitical competition, the ECR Group believes Europe must treat East Asia as a strategic priority for security, resilience and competitiveness, and work closely with like-minded partners.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) today adopted a recommendation by ECR MEP Adam Bielan that sets out this approach to the changing geopolitical situation in East Asia and the need for closer cooperation with partners in the region.

“At a time of growing international tensions, Europe cannot afford strategic passivity. The European Union should actively strengthen relations with East Asian countries that share our values and are ready to work together for stability, security and free trade. Today’s vote shows that the European Parliament recognises the importance of this course of action,” said Bielan, Rapporteur and ECR AFET Coordinator.

Bielan said:

“The European Union must strengthen its engagement with partners such as Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan. We need deeper cooperation on security and defence, economic resilience, emerging technologies, supply chains, trade, research and innovation, as well as parliamentary diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges.

“The report was drawn up in close cooperation with representatives of various political groups, yet its core elements consistently reflect the ECR Group’s long-standing position, namely that the European Union should build strong partnerships with the region’s democratic states and limit strategic dependencies that could undermine European security and competitiveness.

“Despite the large number of amendments tabled, we managed to produce a balanced and pragmatic document. I am pleased that we were able to build broad support for a report that sends a clear signal: Europe must be more present in East Asia and develop cooperation with partners who are ready to respond jointly to the challenges of the 21st century.”

The recommendation points to the growing link between European and Indo-Pacific security, including in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the support Moscow has received from third countries. It identifies key challenges in the region, including systemic rivalry, maritime tensions, economic coercion, military build-ups and threats to the rules-based international order.

The recommendation will now be submitted to a vote of the full European Parliament during an upcoming plenary session in Strasbourg.