Reuters-Germany says formal EU-ASEA

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Subject: Reuters-Germany says formal EU-ASEAN meeting cancelled 

Germany says formal EU-ASEAN meeting cancelled
10:41 a.m. Mar 17, 1999 Eastern
BONN, March 17 (Reuters) - Germany said on Wednesday that a planned formal
meeting between the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the
European Union would not take place, but efforts were being made to hold an
informal meeting.

ASEAN said that the meeting, scheduled for March 29 in Berlin, would not
proceed unless Myanmar is allowed to participate. The EU bars high-level
contacts with Myanmar, which joined ASEAN in 1997, because of its human
rights record.

A spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said that Foreign Minister
Joschka Fischer has said the planned formal meeting of EU and ASEAN foreign
ministers would not take place as originally planned.

``There will not be a formal meeting between the EU and ASEAN states,'' a
foreign ministry spokesman said. ``Efforts are being made to see whether an
informal meeting between the EU troika and some ASEAN states can proceed.''

On Tuesday, Malaysia said all nine ASEAN countries had agreed not to attend
the March 29 meeting if Myanmar was not allowed to participate.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.