ABSTRACT
Malaysia and Europe are no strangers to each other. Contacts between the two regions for centuries have encompassed political, economic, social and cultural aspects. Malaysia established relations with major Western European countries soon after gaining independence in 1957. The European Union (EU) remained one of Malaysia's top trading partners, behind China and the United States. Within Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Malaysia is the EU's second-largest trading partner, after Singapore. Economic relations between Malaysia and the EU continued to improve with the establishment of the EU–Malaysian Chamber of Commerce in early 2003 and further negotiations. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, Malaysia did not neglect communist Eastern Europe, despite the differences in their political systems and ideologies. Although ideologically different, Malaysia and Eastern Europe attempted to bridge the gap by exploring ways to take advantage of opportunities in other areas within the limited political confines of the Cold War era.
