歐盟和東盟將商討自由貿易 (EU, ASEAN to Begin Free Trade Talks)

歐盟和東南亞國家聯盟同意舉行自由貿易會談，這將是全球最大的區域貿易談判之一。東盟十國和歐盟星期五在文萊舉行的會議上達成協議。

歐盟貿易專員曼德爾森對路透社說，雙方進行了2年的準備后達成了這項協議。曼德爾森和東盟各國部長都沒有給出談判的時間表。

歐盟有27個成員國。東盟成員包括文萊、緬甸、柬埔寨、印度尼西亞、老撾、馬來西亞、菲律賓、新加坡、泰國以及越南。路透社說，東盟和歐盟的雙邊貿易在2005年達1千370億美元。

The European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to hold free trade talks, embarking on one of the world's largest regional trade negotiations. The agreement was reached Friday in Brunei during a meeting between members of the 10-member ASEAN organization and the European bloc.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson told the Reuters news agency that the agreement was reached after two years of preparations. Neither he nor ASEAN ministers gave a time frame for the negotiations.

The European Union has 27 member nations. ASEAN members are Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Reuters says trade between the two blocs amounted to 137 billion dollars in 2005.