Indonesia–European Union relations

Diplomatic relations between European countries and Indonesia date back to 1949. Initially, European Union (EU)–Indonesia relations were facilitated through the EU–Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) cooperation. Bilateral cooperation was continuously expanded and eventually the EU Delegation to Indonesia was opened in 1988. Economic and political dialogue between Indonesia and the EU takes the form of regular Senior Officials Meetings. In 2000 relations were further reinforced with the release of the European Commission's communication "Developing Closer Relations between Indonesia and the EU". In November 2013, the EU's high representative for foreign and security policy Catherine Ashton made her first official visit to Indonesia. The EU and Indonesia have built robust commercial relations, with bilateral trade amounting to approximately €25 billion in 2012 resulting in a sizeable €5.7 billion trade surplus for Indonesia with the EU. In the past few years trade between EU and Indonesia has been marked by an upward trend. Whereas total trade was worth almost €16 billion in 2009, by 2011 it had already reached €23.5 billion. For the EU, Indonesia is the 24th largest import source (share 0.9%) and the 30th largest export destination (share 0.6%). Inside the ASEAN-region, Indonesia ranks fourth in terms of total trade. The EU is Indonesia's 4th largest trading partner after Japan, China and Singapore, representing almost 10% of its total external trade. The EU is the second largest investor in the Indonesian economy. Indonesia mostly exports to the EU agricultural products and processed resources, mainly palm oil, fuels and mining products, textiles and furniture. EU exports to Indonesia consist mainly of high-tech machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and various manufactured goods. Essentially, trade flows between Indonesia and the EU complement each other. After negotiations on a free trade agreement with ASEAN got increasingly difficult, the EU began pursuing negotiations with individual ASEAN states.