欧盟、东盟愿开展自由贸易谈判

A key European Union trade official wants to begin negotiations on a far-reaching free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. The comments were made at a business summit between EU and Asian officials Sunday in the lead-up to this week's ASEAN summit in Cambodia.

欧州联盟一名关键的贸易官员希望和东南亚国家联盟开始一项利益长远的自由贸易协议谈判。这个说法是星期天欧盟和东盟官员在柬埔寨举行商务峰会期间提出来的，这次峰会是计划本周在柬埔寨举行的东盟峰会的预备会。

European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht is urging closer economic ties between the EU and the ten-member ASEAN bloc. During a conference of EU and ASEAN officials Sunday, De Gucht urged delegates to make "concrete progress" on negotiations for a free trade agreement between the two regions.

欧盟贸易专员卡洛.德.古赫特敦促欧盟和有10个成员国的东盟集团加强经贸联系。在星期天举行的这场欧盟和东盟官员的峰会上，德.古赫特敦促代表团成员为两个地区之间的自由贸易谈判协议做出具体进展。

"We need a comprehensive, 21st-century free trade agreement between our two regions," said De Gucht, "It should tackle the full range of barriers that obstruct flows of goods, services and investment between our regions. And that means not only eliminating tariffs, but also tackling regulations that block trade in goods and services, improving the protection of intellectual property rights, and securing access to markets for government procurements, all within a legally binding framework."

他说：“我们需要一个全方位的、两个地区之间21世纪的自由贸易协议。这项协议应该全面打破限制贸易流通的各种壁垒，让货物、服务行业以及投资在我们这两个地区之间自由流动。这就意味着不仅要消除关税，还要消除防碍货物和服务流通的相关条例，改进保护知识产权的措施，保护政府采购的市场准入，要让所有这些都落实在一个受法律保护的框架之中。”

De Gucht says the European Union will soon begin negotiations on a bilateral trade deal with Vietnam. The E-U has already started discussions with Singapore and Malaysia. But De Gucht says the goal is to strike a free trade agreement with the ASEAN bloc as a whole.

德.古赫特说，欧盟将很快开始和越南展开双边贸易协议谈判。欧盟早已和新加坡以及马来西亚展开了贸易谈判。不过德.古赫特说，谈判的目标是和整个东南亚国家联盟达成一个自由贸易协议。

This year's summit comes amid the ongoing European financial crisis. De Gucht spent much of his speech Sunday assuring ASEAN leaders that the worst of the problems are over. Fifteen years ago, the situation was reversed, with Asian economies locked in financial turmoil.

今年的峰会召开期间正值欧洲陷入金融危机时。德.古赫特星期天用大量的篇幅向东盟各国领导人保证，欧洲最艰难的时期已经过去。15年前，两个地区的局势完全相反，当时亚洲经济遭遇了金融风暴。In his speech, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan threw a light-hearted jab at his European counterparts.

东盟秘书长素林在发言中跟欧洲伙伴开了一个小玩笑。

"In 1997, Europe told us, put your house in order," said Pitsuwan. "This time, we appeal to Europe, put your house in order."

他说：“1997年，欧洲对我们说，把你们自己的问题理顺。这次我们向欧洲呼吁，把你们的自己的事情理顺。”

Trade between the two regions is significant. ASEAN as a whole is the EU's third largest trading partner, while the EU is ASEAN's second largest. Surin says these vital economic ties must grow to form a buffer against future financial challenges.

两个地区间的贸易具有相当潜力。东盟整体来说，组成了欧盟第三大贸易伙伴，反过来，欧盟是东盟国家的第二大贸易伙伴。素林说，这些关键的经济联系必须增长，以便能够形成一个应对未来金融挑战的缓冲机制。

"This is where both the business communities in ASEAN and the EU must engage themselves to mitigate the effects of these new dynamics, through trade, through investment, through technology, to further elevate our partnership, our cooperation and our connectivity, so that more opportunities can be created and more businesses are able to take advantage of our partnerships and to alleviate or reduce the uncertainties within the two regions," said Pitsuwan.

素林说：“东盟和欧盟两个机构之间的商贸界必须让自己有能力参与其中，以便通过贸易、投资、科技等减轻这些新动态变化的影响，进而进一步发展我们之间的伙伴关系、我们的合作和我们的联络，以便创造出更多的机会，让更多的商贸能在我们的伙伴关系中受益，降低或减少两地区之间的不确定性。”