ASEM process (Asia-Europe Meeting): perspectives and priorities into the new decade

The committee adopted the report, which was submitted in the name of the chairman, Elmar BROK (EPP-ED, D), after the original rapporteur, Olivier DUPUIS (TGI, I), demanded that his name be removed following the adoption of a large number of "deleting" amendments which stripped his text of its very meaning. Invoking Rule 161(3) of Parliament's Rules of Procedure, he said he wished to have a minority opinion included in the report. In its report the committee welcomed the commitment of ASEM leaders to support human rights, democracy and the rule of law. It called for any state which did not abide by this commitment to be excluded from summits, meetings or programmes. It also appealed to ASEM leaders to invite new members, such as India, to join the organisation. All those involved in the ASEM process were urged to engage in an intensive political dialogue on the situations in the Middle East and Afghanistan and on the internal ethnic and religious conflicts in Asia. The committee believed a comprehensive approach to conflict prevention and peacekeeping was needed, e.g. by supporting political dialogue between North and South Korea as well as between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan on the question of Taiwan. The Council and its Member States were asked to grant visas to the President and the Government of Taiwan to enable them to carry out private visits to the EU. Lastly, the report underlined the need to strengthen the economic pillar of the ASEM process and also called on the ASEM states to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol.�