In his presentation, Dr Fraser Cameron, Director of the EU-Asia Centre in Brussels, will discuss to what extent the EU can be considered an actor in Asia. The EU already has several strategic partnerships in Asia, including China, Japan, India and South Korea. It also has a strategic relationship with ASEAN. But what do these relationships really mean? Where can the EU have an influence in the Asia-Pacific region? How serious are EU leaders about Asia? And should the EU coordinate its role in Asia with the US?
Fraser Cameron is Director of the EU-Asia Centre, a Senior Advisor at the European Policy Centre (EPC), and an adjunct professor at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. Born in Scotland, Dr Cameron was educated at the University of St Andrews where he received an honours degree, Master of Arts, in Political Science and History (1970). He then obtained a PhD in International Relations from the University of Cambridge (1973). He was a Research Fellow at the University of Hamburg (1973-74) and a Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Kent (1974-75). From 1975 to 1989, he was a member of the British Diplomatic Service.
Dr Cameron joined the European Commission in 1990 and was closely involved in policy issues related to the external relations of the EU. From 1999 to 2001, he was the Political Counsellor in the EU Delegation in Washington DC. During his service in the EU, he worked on issues such as global governance, transatlantic relations, Asia, CFSP, arms control and enlargement. He joined the EPC on secondment from the Commission in 2002 and retired from the Commission in 2006.
Dr Cameron has lectured widely in all continents and is a well-known media commentator. He is an advisor to the BBC and to the UK government’s Higher Education Panel on Europe. He was Director of the Europe-China Academic Network (ECAN) 2007-09. Dr Cameron is the author of numerous books and articles on European and international affairs. The most recent include ‘An Introduction to European Foreign Policy’ (2007, Routledge) and ‘US Foreign Policy after the Cold War’ (2005, Routledge).