For the past 30 years, the EU has engaged with Cambodia through interregional cooperation, including the ASEAN-EU partnership. Since 1994, the EU has been a prominent actor in boosting Cambodia's socioeconomic growth, social governance and democratic advancement, education and other areas of development that help the country achieve the UN SDGs. 

European assistance and the French Development Agency (AFD) have provided grants and technical assistance to the Cambodian government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in the country to address economic growth and job creation, agriculture and natural resource management and rule of law governance.

Since joining ASEAN in 1999, Cambodia has become a crucial pillar of the ASEAN Community, strengthening and promoting ASEAN and serving as a bridge between ASEAN and other regional and international development partners. 

In 2021, the EU pledged to strengthen ASEAN centrality as a key component of its Indo-Pacific cooperation strategy. The plan demonstrates the EU's commitment to supporting regional security, stability and prosperity, as well as sustainable development, via the rule of law and respect for human rights. 

During the third ASEAN-EU Dialogue on Sustainable Development, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation “Towards a Greener, More Innovative, Equal and Inclusive Future”, with the EU also promising to fund €10 billion ($11.08 billion) for ASEAN infrastructure development and connectivity through the Global Gateway Initiative. During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU supplied almost 1.1 million vaccine doses worth €499 million ($552.7 million) to Cambodia.

Furthermore, in May 2022, Cambodia and the EU, along with several European partners, launched the second Joint European Strategy for Development Cooperation with Cambodia (2021-2027) to enhance joint development cooperation with Cambodia. 

The objectives are focused on six interwoven priority areas, including gender equality, fostering democratic involvement and accountability, increasing Cambodia's competitiveness and green development, with a human rights-based approach incorporated throughout. The main aims are to promote green growth, decent jobs, education and skill development and good governance. 

In 2022, the EU, in partnership with UNICEF, ILO and Oxfam, pledged €7.4 million {$8.4 million) to help Cambodia develop its social protection system. The EU Support to Social Protection Reforms programme responds to the pandemic and implements the National Social Protection Policy Framework (SPPF) through two projects: Fostering an Inclusive and Shock Responsive Social Protection System in Cambodia (FIRST), led by Oxfam, and Advancing Social Protection in Cambodia, steered by the National Social Protection Council of Cambodia (NSPC) and implemented by ILO and UNICEF.

On January 12, 2024, during the workshop on “EU-Cambodia Relations for Regional Connectivity and Peace” at the National Assembly, Cambodia called for 2024 to be designated as a “strategy year” for both itself and the EU to promote multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional cooperation, strengthen regional sustainability and peace, establish an “eco-system” to support a Cambodia-EU Think Tank network, facilitate the exchange of knowledge and promote digital literacy and educational innovation.

Challenges

On August 12, 2020, the EU partly suspended the Everything But Arms (EBA) system in Cambodia, affecting one-fifth, or €1 billion ($1.09 billion), of the Kingdom's annual exports to the 27-nation bloc. 

Political mistrust, human rights issues, restrictions on media freedom of expression and challenges to democratic governance are obstacles that impede Cambodia-EU relations. The EU was the country’s top commercial partner in 2018, accounting for 45 per cent of the Kingdom's exports, with 95.7 per cent entering the union under EBA tariff benefits, according to the European Commission (EC). 

Overall, Cambodia was the second greatest consumer of EBA preferences, following only Bangladesh. Furthermore, the June EU presidential election and the November US presidential election have an impact on EU policy towards the Indo-Pacific region, including Cambodia, which is one of the most important factors influencing EU-Cambodia ties.

Internationally, the competition between China and the US has been the primary source of geopolitical and economic tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, threatening Cambodia's long-term prosperity. 

Additionally, the Russia-Ukraine war has an impact on the global supply chain, as well as food and energy security. More or less, as a result of certain Western scholars' false narratives about Cambodia's connections with China, Cambodia has been the victim of illogical and politically driven fabrications. 

2024 Strategic Year for Cambodia and EU

Cambodia and the EU will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2024, and despite these challenges, Cambodia remains an important commercial partner for the EU, with the union remaining the second largest market for Cambodian textile sectors. 

To sustain robust and healthy ties, Cambodia and the EU must stick to the values of mutual trust and respect, and pursue a pragmatic yet strategic approach to maintaining steady flows of commerce and investment, technology and AI development and people-to-people exchanges.

Furthermore, Cambodia and the EU must focus on creating an enabling environment and conditions for public-private partnerships, promoting commitments to renewable energy and green investment, increasing the availability of financial assistance, human resources and institutional capacity building, and technology transfer from developed countries to Cambodia, and promoting trust-building political dialogue based on 'people-centric and mutual respect' and win-win collaboration.

It is now time for Cambodia and the EU to call for “strategic cooperation”, put the painful past behind them and focus on developing a strong, healthy and long-term cooperative strategy based on mutual trust and confidence. 

Cambodia and the EU must develop open conversation to minimise mistrust and misconception that the EU is interfering with Cambodian domestic issues.

Finally, digitalisation and digital literacy, education and innovation, food and energy and green development are future key areas of collaboration and opportunity for the European Parliament, European Commission and other EU development partners to transform challenges into opportunities while enhancing positive, optimistic and mutual understanding between the union and Cambodia.

Thong Mengdavid, Research Fellow at the Asian Vision Institute. The views expressed in the article are the author’s own.