Southeast Asian States and EU Countries: Parameters of Interaction

The interest of the Southeast Asian countries in the EU states is caused by both economic and strategic considerations, which laid the foundation for long-term cooperation in various directions. The article analyzes in detail the economic cooperation between the Southeast Asian states and the EU countries in various fields: trade, investment, financial assistance based on the use of various statistical data, first introduced into scientific circulation, which allows us to reasonably conclude that economic cooperation is mutually beneficial for both regions. Stable economic ties also affect the nature of political relations between the states of the region and the EU countries. The authors investigate different areas of cooperation between the regions in the strategic sphere, which was based on the signing of the Strategic Cooperation Agreement in 2020. Its adoption was the result of the European Union’s awareness of the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific region, of which the Southeast Asian countries are a key element, and the latter’s interest in finding a “third party” in the context of the rivalry between the United States and China. The article analyzes the interaction between the Southeast Asian states and the EU countries in ensuring maritime security, countering terrorism and combating climate change. At the same time, cooperation between the two regions, which is carried out both at the level of EU-ASEAN relations and on a bilateral basis between states, is not without difficulties, which has led to a decrease in confidence in the EU as a reliable partner. According to the authors, the potential of both economic and strategic cooperation is far from being fully developed.