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Major Facts

Statistics: €35m as the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust fund (LIFT) for humanitarian assistance to Burma EU Common Position

Policy reports: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113423.pdf

Latest News:

Background

Diplomatic relations since:
Burma Policy: Sanctions and selective engagement

Major issues:

Human rights
Aid

The EU’s prime goal is to see a legitimate, democratically elected government in Burma that respects human rights. Over the years it has imposed restrictive measures but also provided humanitarian assistance. Despite different opinions among members states on whether to engage or isolate the country, but the common position extends restrictive measures on the regime in response to the slow political progress. Nevertheless, the EU maintains contact with the junta through the ASEM process and EU ASEAN meetings.
After the September 2007 uprisings, the EU appointed a special envoy Piero Fassino to coordinate the EU’s efforts to bring positive change to Burma; however the Burmese government does not recognize his appointment as well as his activities.

Following the US's policy change towards Burma, the EU ambassador said on 4 Dec 2009 will begin "sustained political dialogue" with Burma. Future engagement would follow three tracks – general humanitarian assistance, the giving of financial aid through non-government organisations, and political discussion.

individual countries:
The UK is a strong supporter of ASSK. On 30 Dec 2009 Gordon Brown sent a letter of support to ASSK

November 2-9 Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry representatives visited Burma for the first time and studied market potential for trade and investment. German FDI in Myanmar is just around $15 million.Bilateral trade between the two countries is around US $610 million

Statements

27 Jan 2010 - A statement released by France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said France “continues to call for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and of all the Burmese political prisoners." and to see the Burmese government "make concrete gestures in support of the national reconciliation process which would include the opposition and the ethnic minorities"

20 May 2009 - According to a joint press statement of the 11th China-EU Summit, Burma was among the many issues discussed.

4 May 2009 - Leaders of the EU and Japan, in a joint statement expressed hope that the Burmese regime would tackle the country’s severe political, structural and economic problems and foster a peaceful transition to a legitimate, democratic and civilian government without delay.

5 Feb 2009 - The European Parliament called on Burma's military rulers to restore citizenship rights to Rohingya Muslim minorities living in Western Burma's Arakan State, and urged Thailand not to repatriate the Rohingya migrants, who have been arrested for illegally entering the country, as they would face repression at home.

Major Deals and Cooperation

ASEM process and of EU-ASEAN meetings

1996	Banned visas for Myanmar officials, effectively preventing ASEAN-EU talks from being held in Europe. EU adopted a Common Position on Burma which included a ban on the sale or transfer of arms and weapons expertise to the country. It also suspended all bilateral aid other than humanitarian assistance.
1998	EU Council expanded the collective restriction on granting visa to Myanmar government officials to cover transit visas and tourism officials.
November 1997	EU objected to Myanmar’s partiiation s an observer at the EU-ASEAN joint cooperation committee meeting.
2003	Further restrictions on Myanmar officials and families visiting Europe as well as freezing Myanmar assets.
September 2007	EU expanded its sanctions. It introduced a visa ban on members of the military regime and government, and a freeze on overseas assets held by some members of the regime.
27 April 2009	Extended extended economic sanctions
August 2009	France and Britain called for global arms and economic embargoes against Burma.

High Level Visits

March 1994	British Assistant Undersecretary of State visited Yangon.
July 1999	EU delegation to Rangoon to discuss the country's humanitarian needs and examine the political stalemate
January 2001	EU mission to Burma
End of January 2003	Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win was permitted to attend the ASEAN-EU Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brussels
21-22 Jan 2009	Danish Development Minister Ulla Toraes visited Burma, with a Norwegian minister for Environment and Development Erik Solheim.
9 Oct 2009	Aung San Suu Kyi met deputy heads of the U.S. and Australian missions and the ambassador of Britain, which represented the European Union
14-16 October 2009	EU Fact Finding mission, meeting USDA General Secretary Htay Oo, Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD CEC members
3 Dec 2009	EU Ambassador David Lipman met Sr. Gen. Than Shwe to obtain diplomatic credentials in Naypyidaw
17 December 2009	Foreign Minister Nyan Win met with Swedish (holding EU presidency) and Danish counterparts, along with EU special envoy for Burma Piero Fassino on the sidelines of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen

EVENT TRACKER

2010.11.15	International	UK	The UK is to provide around £3 million of emergency aid to help the estimated quarter of a million-plus victims of last month's cyclone in Burma, the Government announced.
2010.11.11	International	Germany	Vote—counting after Myanmar’s election at the start of this week is being manipulated, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle charged in Berlin
2010.11.04	International	Germany	The German Foreign Ministry has informed Mizzima that at this time it does not support the proposed UN commission of inquiry to investigate war crimes and human rights violations in Burma.
2010.11.03	International	UK	The British government doesn't recognize the Sunday general election in Myanmar as a legitimate competition, a Foreign Office minister said.
2010.09.30	International	EU	Pye Phyo Tay Za, the son of Tay Za, a businessman with close links to Burma's military government, is appealing a decision taken earlier this year which maintains European Union (EU) financial sanctions and travel ban against him.
2010.09.29	International	Lithuania	Lithuania has joined the growing list of countries supporting calls for a UN commission of inquiry into the Burmese junta’s documented cases of human rights abuses, after France and Ireland in the past week
2010.09.22	International	The Netherlands and New Zealand	The Netherlands and New Zealand giving their approval to a proposed UN Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate war crime in Burma
2010.09.16	International	UK	British Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned the November 7 Burmese election, calling it “a sham” designed to keep the military regime in power, even after the polls.
2010.09.01	International	UK	In a letter to the advocacy group Burma Campaign-UK, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain had not ruled out a United Nations commission of inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity committed by the military regime.
2010.08.14	International	EU	A statement released by the British Embassy in Yangon on behalf of other EU nations with missions in the country said: "If these elections are to have legitimacy in the eyes of the people of (Myanmar) and the wider international community, the authorities must ensure that all parties can campaign freely and that the polling process itself is free and fair"
2010.07.18	International	UK	Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Jeremy Browne said the new British government supported London's long-standing policy of applying pressure on Burma to improve its political and human rights record. He also said that "The British government remains very disappointed about the past activities of the regime in Burma. We do not regard the coming election as a legitimate expression of public opinion,"
2010.07.01	International	EU	A scheduled European Union high-level visit to Burma was cancelled recently after the Burmese ruling junta denied a request from the EU Presidency Council to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
2010.06.22	Exile + International	HRW+ Czech Republic	Human Rights Watch organised an awareness event on Burma's Political Prisoners at New York's Grand Central Terminal. The event was also supported by the Czech ambassador to the U.N. Martin Palous
2010.05.27	International	ASEAN + EU	The nations of Southeast Asia and the European Union urged Burma to ensure forthcoming elections are "credible and transparent" in a communique following a ministerial conference in Madrid
2010.05.22	International	EU	The European Parliament passed a resolution condemning the Burmese regime’s plan to hold a national election “under undemocratic conditions and on the basis of rules which exclude the main democratic opposition”, The passage of the resolution is seen by many observers to be an important victory for the advocacy group Burma Campaign UK (Campaign) based in London
2010.05.20	International	EU	The European Parliament (EP) denounced Burma's electoral law and asked for the military junta to repeal it in order to open the political process for the participation of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, according to a press release issued by the 27 countries of the EP
2010.05.19-20	International	Czech Republic	An official delegation to Burma from the Czech Republic led by Jiri Sitler, Deputy Foreign Minister, met NLD leaders such as Tin Oo, vice-chairman of the NLD, Win Tin, Nyan Win, Ohn Kyaing and Han Thar Myint at the British Club in Rangoon. the Czech delegation alsomet with regime authorities in Naypyidaw, but the state-run New Light of Myanmar did not report the delegation's visit.
2010.04.26	International	EU	The EU extended its sanctions against Burma and called on the military regime to stop “violation of international human rights and humanitarian law” but offered to hold direct talks with the junta. The EU foreign ministers said they do not see Burma moving to democratic rule and again called for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
2010.04.19	International	EU	The European Union hopes to send an "exploratory mission" to Burma to discuss with the military junta the country's upcoming elections and also calls on Burmese military leaders "to cooperate fully" with Piero Fassino, its special envoy to the country, in a text approved by representatives of the 27 European Union nations which will be formally adopted by EU foreign ministers.
2010.03.17	International	UK	British Prime Minister Gordon Brown released a statement saying that Burma had ignored the demand of the UN and international community by imposing restrictive and unfair terms for the election it will hold later this year.The statement also called for an emergency meeting at the UN to discuss a possible arms embargo against Burma.
2010.03.02	International	EU	The European Union announced the allocation of 17.25 million euros (23.4 million dollars) in humanitarian aid for Myanmar's "vulnerable people" this year. The aid is to be provided through the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) and will go to ethnic minority groups living in Burma's frontier areas and refugees located in camps in Thailand.
2009.12.03	International	EU	The European Union will begin "sustained political dialogue" with Burma following the thawing of relations between the junta-led nation and the US, the regional bloc’s ambassador said.
2009.10.14-16	International	EU	EU Fact Finding mission consisting of 20 delegates, meet USDA General Secretary Htay Oo, Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD CEC members.The European Union is set to channel € 35 million to non-governmental organizations in Burma
2009.08.14	International	EU	The European Union added four state-run media outlets to its list of Burmese sanctions targets in response to the court ruling against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
2009.06.19	International	EU	Europe agreed to step up sanctions and take further targeted measures against the Burmese regime
2009.06.14	Government + International	SPDC + EU	A government statement in the New Light of Myanmar rejected a recent declaration of the European Union (EU) Presidency, saying that the declaration was made relying on inaccurate information originated from the insurgent groups and biased media reports.
2009.06.11	International	EU	The European Union council under the Czech Presidency voiced serious concern at the growing Burmese military offensive against Karen rebels, and called for an immediate truce.
2009.06.11	International	Germany and France	The German and French Heads-of-State, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, during a joint news conference in Paris declared they are trying to enlist the assistance of China and India to exert further pressure on Burma's military authorities concerning the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi.
2009.06.02	Government + International	SPDC + EU	State-run-newspapers reported that the deputy foreign minister told delegations at the Asean-EU meeting in Phnom Penh that Burma did not recognize the appointment of the EU representative Piero Fassino as well as his activities.
2009.05.28	International	ASEAN + EU	Speaking at a meeting of EU and South East Asian ministers in Cambodia, the Burmese deputy foreign minister insisted that Aung San Suu Kyi's trial was not a human rights issue.
2009.05.20	International	EU + China	According to a joint press statement of the 11th China-EU Summit, Burma was among the many issues discussed. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu said, "I'd like to point out that the affairs of Burma should be decided by the people of Burma. As a neighbor of Burma, we hope that the relevant sides in Burma will use dialogue to achieve reconciliation, stability and development."
2009.05.18	International	EU	EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters tougher steps were in order. "It's not the moment to lower sanctions, it's the moment in any case to increase them," he said.
2009.05.18	International	UK	British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent an open letter to Burma’s detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi reiterating his support for her by saying the British government is committed to work with international partners to support Burma's path to stability, peace and economic recovery.
2009.05.04	International	EU-Japan	Leaders of the EU and Japan, in a joint statement expressed hope that the Burmese regime would tackle the country’s severe political, structural and economic problems and foster a peaceful transition to a legitimate, democratic and civilian government without delay.
2009.04.27	International	EU	The EU extended its common position on Burma for one more year, saying that the political and socio-economic challenges in Burma “can only be addressed through genuine dialogue with all stakeholders, including ethnic groups.”
2009.02.23	International	EU	In a statement, the European Union (EU)’s current presidency called for dialogue between the Burmese junta and the opposition, the release of political prisoners and the lifting of restrictions on political parties.
2009.02.23	International	EU	The European Union’s current Presidency in a statement urged Burma’s military government to release all political prisoners, including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, lift all restrictions on political parties and embark on a dialogue with opposition groups.
2009.02.21-22	International	Germany	Germany’s Members of the Parliamentary Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development, Jürgen Klimke and Hellmut Königshaus, visited Burma’s Irrawaddy delta, where Cyclone Nargis had struck, to see the process of recovery work being done by the Tripartite Core Group, formed with the UN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Burmese junta.
2009.02.05	International	EU	The European Parliament called on Burma's military rulers to restore citizenship rights to Rohingya Muslim minorities living in Western Burma's Arakan State, and urged Thailand not to repatriate the Rohingya migrants, who have been arrested for illegally entering the country, as they would face repression at home.
2009.01.21-22	International	Denmark + Norway	Danish Development Minister Ulla Toraes visited Burma, with a Norwegian minister for Environment and Development Erik Solheim. to assess the progress of Post-Nargis response and future recovery needs.
2009.01.21	International	EU	The European Commission will give €40.5 million (US $52.4 million) in humanitarian aid to Burma this year.

Last Updated on Monday, 29 November 2010 18:30