In the past years, approximately 1000 European companies have invested about €130 billion in the economy and directly generated employment for 1.1 million Indonesians.
[1] Even at a record high of EUR 25 billion, overall Indonesia–EU bilateral trade is well below some of the other neighbours in the region, even though Indonesia is the largest economy in ASEAN.
EU exports to Indonesia consist mainly of high-tech machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and various manufactured goods.
[5] After six years of intensive negotiations, Indonesian Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potočnik and the Lithuanian Minister of Environment Valentinas Mazuronis signed the Indonesia–European Union (EU) Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT–VPA) in October 2013.
[6] According to the EU statistics (Eurostat) Indonesia's exports of crude palm oil (CPO) have been surging over the last five years from €265 million in 2008 to €1.1 billion in 2012.
An anti-dumping investigation was initiated in August 2012 as there was evidence of dumping by companies from both Indonesia and Argentina of biodiesel on the EU market.
[8] In December 2009, the EU decided to pursue negotiations towards free trade agreements with individual ASEAN countries, beginning with Singapore and followed by Malaysia and Vietnam.
[9] The decision was informed by the Indonesia–EU Vision Group, established in late 2009 based on an initiative from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, calling for the early launch of talks for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
At present, almost 40 per cent of Indonesia's 13 billion Euros exports to the EU market are eligible for preferential treatment.