Joint Press Release of the 33rd ASEAN Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) MeetingASEAN Main Portal

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) held their 33rd Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) Meeting on Thursday, 11 June 2026 in Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia.

ASEAN and the EU reviewed recent developments in their respective regions since the last JCC Meeting held on 16 June 2025, including the challenging global geopolitical context. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepen relations based on international law, mutual interest, mutual benefit and equality. ASEAN and the EU reiterated their shared interest in keeping their regions peaceful, stable and prosperous, strengthening the rules-based multilateral system through the promotion of effective regionalism and multilateralism, as well as respecting and promoting international law, international norms and standards. They further reiterated their shared commitment to support ASEAN Centrality and ASEAN-led mechanisms. They confirmed their shared determination to promote peace, security, stability and prosperity, including through the four priority areas of the ASEAN Outlook on the IndoPacific (AOIP) and the seven priority areas of the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, as well as through the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

ASEAN and the EU took stock of their extensive cooperation and welcomed the highly constructive and successful discussions at the 25th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting (AEMM) held on 27-28 April 2026 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. The two sides looked forward to the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations in 2027. They reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations and undertaking more tangible, practical and mutually beneficial initiatives to advance the Strategic Partnership, towards the EU’s intention to establish a Comprehensive (EU) Strategic Partnership, with a view to improving the security and the quality of life of their citizens, promoting economic cooperation, increasing connectivity between the two regions, and responding to global challenges. The two sides reviewed the implementation of the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership (2023-2027), welcoming the progress achieved since their previous meeting, with 69.5% of action lines addressed. Both sides also expressed intention to explore practical cooperation in the four priority areas of the AOIP.

ASEAN and the EU discussed their cooperation in the field of peace and security, including through the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). They underscored the importance of strengthening their cooperation in cybersecurity and maritime security, including sustainable ocean governance and the blue economy, and through the ASEAN-EU High-Level Dialogue on Maritime Security Cooperation. They underlined that the resilience of critical underwater infrastructure is vital to our security and prosperity and its effective protection requires a concerted and coordinated efforts. Final They also recognised the growing challenges posed by cybercrime, including online scams and fraud, and expressed their intention to further promote cooperation in this field.

The two sides discussed their cooperation on trade and economic issues, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including the digital economy, green technologies and green services, supply chain resilience, emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), and combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.

ASEAN and the EU welcomed the ongoing roll-out of the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, including through the implementation of Sustainable Connectivity and the Green Team Europe Initiatives. They expressed their satisfaction that all projects under the EU-ASEAN Sustainable Connectivity Package (SCOPE) had become operational, covering areas such as trade, investment, people-to-people connectivity, transport, energy, and digital connectivity. The EU expressed its intention to scale up support for flagship initiatives, such as the ASEAN Power Grid, drawing on its experience with energy market integration within the EU, as well as the EU’s Copernicus earth observation services. ASEAN also encouraged the EU to actively support the implementation of the new ASEAN Connectivity Strategic Plan (ACSP) in support of inclusive, resilient and sustainable regional connectivity, particularly in enhancing connectivity and economic integration across all ASEAN Member States.

ASEAN and the EU shared the ambition to uphold an open, predictable, transparent, free, fair, inclusive, sustainable and rules-based multilateral trading system, and agreed to intensify efforts to further strengthen their trade and investment relations. They welcomed the work undertaken by the ASEAN-EU Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment (JWG-TI), notably in the areas of digital trade, green services, green technologies and supply chain resilience, as well as the ongoing work towards finalising the ASEAN-EU Digital Trade Principles (DTP). They also reaffirmed their efforts in making continued and tangible progress in sectoral cooperation and in advancing towards a region-to-region ASEAN-EU Free Trade Agreement in the longer term.

They noted the work of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Palm Oil between the EU and Relevant ASEAN Member States to promote mutual understanding on the sustainable production of vegetable oils and addressing challenges in this sector in a holistic, transparent, and non-discriminatory manner.

ASEAN and the EU discussed their cooperation on socio-cultural issues, reiterating their commitment to promoting sustainable development and more resilient, sustainable and innovative societies, and addressing the global challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental protection, including through partnerships with the relevant ASEAN Centres. They also reaffirmed the importance of effectively implementing the Paris Agreement and their respective Nationally Determined Final Contributions, and to further enhance cooperation and exchanges on environment and climate action, including circular economy. In this regard, they welcomed the EU’s continued support to the ASEAN Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ACESP). They also reaffirmed the importance of strengthening cooperation in education, technical and vocational training, digital skills, and people-to-people exchanges to support inclusive and sustainable development across the two regions. They also underlined their shared interest in further strengthening engagement and cooperation in the field of Disaster Management and Emergency Response, including strengthening disaster preparedness, climate resilience, and early warning systems, notably between the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC). Building on this shared commitment to resilience, they underlined the importance of enhancing cooperation in education, skills development and vocational training, as well as research and innovation, including participation in EU programmes such as Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe.

ASEAN welcomed the EU’s contributions towards ASEAN Community-building and regional integration efforts, and called on the EU to continue its support for the implementation of ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future, as well as ASEAN’s efforts to narrow the development gap through the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), including supporting the implementation of the IAI Work Plan V, through support for capacity-building, institutional strengthening, human capital development, and regional integration efforts of ASEAN Member States.

The meeting was co-chaired by Ambassador Latifah Zaini, Permanent Representative of Brunei Darussalam to ASEAN, and by Ms. Leila Fernández Stembridge, Head of the South-East Asia Division of the European External Action Service, together with Mr. Ian Hoskins, Acting Head of Unit for South and South-East Asia, European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships. It was attended by members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR), officials from the EU institutions, and officials from the ASEAN Secretariat, while representatives of EU Member States and the European Investment Bank also attended the meeting as observers.