What is Europe?

Even before the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force, aside from some current internal disagreements the EU has to pass difficult political and diplomatic tests.

It will have to prove, first of all, its ability to correctly read and interpret the Asian challenge. Effective diplomacy has to be premised on a robust sense of political and economic realities. Some very recent American assessments on the matter may prove useful and inspiring. Two well-known American senators, John McCain and Joseph Lieberman, believe that the resurgence of Asia is one of the epochal events of our time. It is a renaissance that is not only transforming the face of this vast region, but throwing open new opportunities for billions of people on both sides of the Pacific to build a safer, more prosperous and freer world.

Under such circumstances, an unequivocal European commitment to Asia is highly needed. The EU should participate more actively in Asian regional organisations. How to deepen the EU's economic partnerships in Asia should be a priority for the EU and its 27 members. Asian dynamism must be seen as an extraordinary incentive to do more. Credibility requires visibility.

The two American senators wrote: "... our position in Asia has been strongest when we have listened to our friends, and when we have worked not only to persuade them that we are right, but been willing to be persuaded that they are right". This observation is fully valid also for Europe-Asia negotiations, as the power to persuade is at the very heart of both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.

Without passing premature judgments on European diplomacy's capacity to deal fruitfully with Asia, an urgent task can be reminded. China is to host the Asem 7 Summit in Beijing on October 24-25, 2008. Leaders from the 43 Asem member countries, as well as high officials from the Asean Secretariat and the European Commission, will attend this biennial Summit.

Political dialogue, security and economy, education and culture are the three pillars of Asem. Can European diplomacy promote and cement a productive and really strategic partnership between the two continents, leading to meaningful practical results and not only to rhetorical declarations?

More energetic diplomatic efforts are needed from all participants. The multidimensional Asem process demands a more innovative use of this unique and flexible forum as a diplomatic catalyst. A significant contribution to developing a deep and more diversified European-Asian co-operation is an imperative prerequisite for the success of current and future EU diplomacy. It is axiomatic that constructive diplomacy operates through permanent advocacy.