ASEM comprises the following parties: the European Commission and the EU Member States and Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The origin of ASEM lies in the mutual recognition in Asia and Europe that their relationship should be strengthened, reflecting the current and future global context. The relationship between the two regions is strengthened by political dialogue and economic, social, cultural and intellectual co-operation.

The characteristics of the ASEM process include the following:

• an informal character;

• multidimensional discussions (political, economic and cultural issues);

• equal partnership;

• high-level focus.

Until today, three ASEM summits have been held:

1. ASEM I in Bangkok (Thailand), March 1986,

2. ASEM II in London (Great Britain), April 1998,

3. ASEM III in Seoul (South Korea), October 2000,

Next to these summits, Ministerial meetings are held, which are supported by regular meetings of senior officials. In addition to these government dialogues, there have been meetings for the private sector and for civil society groups.

The ASEM focuses on three areas (political economic and cultural/intellectual), each with its own priorities. These priorities are:

• For the political area: human rights, the protection of children and the impact of globalisation;

• For the economic area: co-operation on reducing barriers to trade and investment, financial and social policy reform;

• For the cultural/intellectual area: co-operation in the field of cultural heritage, a wide range of enhanced contacts and dialogue between the two regions.

The following results have been achieved in the ASEM process: development of a policy dialogue; growing consensus in the economic field on the merits of multilateral liberalisation and on the need for a dialogue on trade and investment facilitation; and an expansion of contacts and networking, which contributes to increase mutual awareness. On the other hand, the European Commission identifies the following issues that players in the ASEM process should be aware of:

1. The large heterogeneity of the Asian members causes a wide range of different perspectives on the Asian side. Moreover, other countries of the region would like to join ASEM, notably India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia, but no consensus has been reached on this issue.

2. There are various other fora /dialogues, both bilaterally and multilaterally. The question is what ASEM has to offer in addition to these other fora. ASEM should focus on the comparative advantage of the ASEM process.

3. If there are no clear benefits, the initial enthusiasm of ASEM I could decrease. ASEM must therefore ensure that concrete benefits (even if they are informal or intangible) can be shown.