Hanoi seminar spotlights European integration
A seminar themed “The European Union in the 21st century: The EU integration process and the interaction between EU’s supranational institutions and the national EU member states” was held in Hanoi on October 17.
The presentations at the event, jointly organised by Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Belgium and the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Vietnam, aimed to provide a better insight into the scope and function of the EU in the world, including its relations with the Asian region and Vietnam in particular.
Specifically, the seminar reviewed the interaction between EU’s supranational institutions and the EU member states as well as the decision-making of the EU institutions and the negotiation process with the EU member states.
The role of EU member states’ within the bloc and the European integration process, with a particular focus on Belgium, drawing on 50 years of experience as a member state of the Union, were also the prominent topics for discussion at the event.
In his speech, Dirk Achten, Vice-Minister, President of the Board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of Belgium highlighted the relations between Belgium and Vietnam, saying that this relationships has evolved from development cooperation to a rich patchwork of partnerships in various sectors, both at the level of central Governments, regional authorities as well as through academic cooperation or business partnerships.
“Vietnam is now more prosperous, and has an ambitious international agenda, including full integration in multilateral and international organisations. As a privileged partner of Vietnam, Belgium is committed to contribute to this international integration”, he stressed.
Meanwhile, Dr. Franz Jessen, Ambassador-Head of Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam emphasised the importance of Vietnam’s current role of coordinator for relations with the EU inside ASEAN.
“Advancing our bilateral cooperation, recently by the EU-Vietnam Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) signed in June 2012, is one of the EU priorities in the region. Additionally, we believe that Europe's experience in regional integration can also be of relevance for Vietnam inside ASEAN," he said.