ABSTRACT
On 9 August 2015, Singapore celebrates 50 years of independence and a remarkable success story against the odds. In half a century, the tiny city-state has become a prosperous economic and strategic pivot, a leading power in the region and a legitimate player on the international stage. Singapore’s relations with Europe have played, and continue to play, a relevant part in this process, while contributing to the increasing importance given to inter-regional dialogue on the international stage. For at least the first 30 years, Singapore’s political, social and economic transforma-
tion owed much to the vision and determination of its Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, whose successful though often controversial policies led the ‘red dot’ from strength to strength. A regional and global thinker, Lee understood that Singapore’s survival depended on its unique position not just within South-East Asia, but globally. A member of the United Nations and the Commonwealth since 1965, Singapore became one of the founder members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967, where it would play an important role in the diplomatic, economic and institutional rapprochement between South-East Asia and Europe. Singapore’s relationship with the evolving European bloc was an integral part of
Lee’s vision of the future, and he did not want Singapore to be excluded from this potentially huge economic market. He cultivated personal relations with successive European leaders, France and Germany especially, and between 1972 and 1978 Singapore signed a series of bilateral investment treaties with the Netherlands, Germany, France, the UK, Switzerland, and the Belgium-Luxemburg Economic Union. In the meantime, the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1992 had adopted a policy of inter-regional dialogue and rapprochement with ASEAN as a whole, laying the foundations for future cooperation. South-East Asia and Europe began to look to each other: the first Europe-ASEAN ministerial meeting was held in 1978, and in 1980 the EEC-ASEAN Cooperation Agreement set up a Joint Cooperation Committee, introducing an institutional dimension to these inter-regional relations for the first time. During the years that followed, and as the international climate evolved, Singapore
and ASEAN witnessed the development of the European Single Market, the North American Free Trade Area, the emerging economies in Eastern Europe as the Cold War
came to an end, and the evolution of the EEC, now the European Union (EU). The ASEAN response was to create its own Free Trade Area, in 1992, to stimulate intraregional competition and its own economies. But the rapprochement between Europe and South-East Asia continued nonetheless, and was given new momentum in 1996 at the first Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Bangkok. A Franco-Singapore initiative, ASEM brought together 25 foreign ministers from ASEAN, the EU, China, Japan and South Korea for inter-regional dialogue on political, economic and socio-cultural issues. It was followed a year later by the first ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting establishing the first ASEM institution, the Asia-Europe Foundation, an intergovernmental platform for cultural dialogue and exchange located in Singapore. As Singapore continued its spectacular growth, becoming one of the four Asian
Tigers and a significant regional player with international recognition, the EU came to embrace Singapore as a partner in its own right. The EU was already strengthening relations with individual ASEAN countries through Partnership and Cooperation Agreements, but Singapore was the first ASEAN country to sign a free trade agreement as an individual country. The EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) came into force in 2014, replacing the existing bilateral investment treaties between Singapore and EU members. It represented a significant achievement for the city-state, and complemented the free trade agreements already in force with the majority of its non-European trading partners. It was largely welcomed by the EU as well, not only for economic reasons, but also to help raise EU visibility in South-East Asia, a process that began in 2009 with the establishment of a European Union Centre in Singapore. For the EU today, Singapore represents a gateway to the Asia-Pacific and a bridge
between the markets and institutions of these two giant regions. The EUSFTA of 2014 also opened the door for free trade agreements between the EU and other ASEAN members, whose expanding markets and regional and consumer growth are seen as potentially beneficial to European exports, investment and employment. The EU today is Singapore’s third trade partner (more than €46 billion in 2014), its top investor and its top supplier. Although Singapore is only the EU’s 15th trade partner overall, it remains important and is its biggest ASEAN trade partner. In 2014, more than 10,000 European companies were operating in Singapore; start-ups are supported by the France-Singapore Business Council, the UK-ASEAN Business Council, the German Centre for Industry and Trade and German-Singapore Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Russia-Singapore Business Forum, and the Nordic European Centre, for example. Agreements such as the Enhanced Partnerships with Germany and Switzerland, the Singapore-France Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership, and the High-level Inter-Russia-Singapore Governmental Commission all contribute to this dynamic. ASEM today counts 53 members, representing almost half of the world’s gross domestic product, 60% of its population, and 60% of global trade; its remit extends to issues of regional and international concern. Of course, Singapore’s relations with Europe are not limited to the EU and its
member states. Singapore has also developed economic relations with Central and Eastern Europe and other regions; it opened an embassy in Turkey in 2012; and in 2013 Singapore joined the Arctic Council as an observer, strengthening relations with Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Iceland. Nor are relations between Singapore and Europe defined in only economic terms, although these have overtaken defence and strategic considerations over the years. Cooperation exists and thrives in
many other domains: science, technology, education, research and development, energy, climate change, to name but a few. Cooperation in culture and the arts, the Alliance Française, the British Council, the Goethe-Institut and the Italian Cultural Institute all contribute to the considerable investment in culture and the arts in Singapore today. Strengthened by the consequences of economic growth and cooperation, the many
dimensions of relations between Singapore and Europe continue to deepen and flourish, a credit to the legacy of Lee Kuan Yew. Inter-regional dialogue has gained considerable weight on the international stage, and the ASEM initiatives have added an institutional dimension to inter-regional cooperation. Sadly, Lee did not live to celebrate Singapore’s 50th anniversary of independence. The extraordinary tributes by Singaporeans and on the streets of Singapore during the week of national mourning that followed his death on 23 March 2015, from friends and foes alike, were a poignant and immensely moving homage to the vision and achievements of an extraordinary, if controversial, individual. Today, Singapore’s relations with Europe continue to grow, and both Singapore and Europe look to benefit from investing in these relations in the future.
