Burdened by strategic dependencies, the EU is pursuing greater strategic autonomy to strengthen its economic competitiveness and security capabilities. Uncertainty over long-term US commitments to European security and an emboldened China have accelerated its search for reliable partners. In this context, the EU is deepening cooperation with the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that are willing to engage and uphold a rules-based order. Determined to stay deeply integrated in global supply chains, ASEAN countries continue
to carefully balance relations with competing powers and seek reliable partners. Diversification is a priority in Thailand and Vietnam, two major outward-oriented economies with distinct regional roles that this report focuses on.
In 2021 the EU launched the Global Gateway as a strategic foreign policy instrument designed to mobilize investment in sustainable connectivity and strengthen the EU’s geopolitical influence. Yet, tension between development cooperation and a novel approach to leverage public and private funds for strategic means is inherently built into the instrument. Messaging around its governance structure, operation model and dual objectives remains fragmented and has led to unrealistic expectations. The reality of perceptions of the Global Gateway on the ground often looks different from the narrative in Brussels. This report assesses the reality in Thailand and Vietnam in the context of their role in the broader regional context.
Thailand and Vietnam have actively shaped their own development by cultivating ties with Japan, Korea, China, the US and Europe. Their economic ecosystems are shaped by dense networks of regional actors that have evolved over decades. Deeply integrated, regional competitors have built close links with local partners, have become part of the local ecosystem and can move faster. By contrast, European firms frequently enter these markets with limited local embeddedness while operating under extensive EU regulatory and compliance requirements. At the same time, a significant opportunity exists: both Thailand and Vietnam regard the EU as an important partner, and the EU has begun to respond with a more strategic approach.
Going forward, the objective must be to generate genuinely strategic investment by coordinating the EU’s various financing instruments more effectively, creating credible incentives for companies, and mobilizing new projects in sectors and regions of strategic importance. In Thailand and Vietnam, the EU must better adjust to the specific needs of each country. It must move at the pace expected by regional partners, adjust its strategic communication, deploy the Global Gateway as a tool for policy support, and finally, seek complementarity rather than competition when engaging on the ground.
to carefully balance relations with competing powers and seek reliable partners. Diversification is a priority in Thailand and Vietnam, two major outward-oriented economies with distinct regional roles that this report focuses on.
In 2021 the EU launched the Global Gateway as a strategic foreign policy instrument designed to mobilize investment in sustainable connectivity and strengthen the EU’s geopolitical influence. Yet, tension between development cooperation and a novel approach to leverage public and private funds for strategic means is inherently built into the instrument. Messaging around its governance structure, operation model and dual objectives remains fragmented and has led to unrealistic expectations. The reality of perceptions of the Global Gateway on the ground often looks different from the narrative in Brussels. This report assesses the reality in Thailand and Vietnam in the context of their role in the broader regional context.
Thailand and Vietnam have actively shaped their own development by cultivating ties with Japan, Korea, China, the US and Europe. Their economic ecosystems are shaped by dense networks of regional actors that have evolved over decades. Deeply integrated, regional competitors have built close links with local partners, have become part of the local ecosystem and can move faster. By contrast, European firms frequently enter these markets with limited local embeddedness while operating under extensive EU regulatory and compliance requirements. At the same time, a significant opportunity exists: both Thailand and Vietnam regard the EU as an important partner, and the EU has begun to respond with a more strategic approach.
Going forward, the objective must be to generate genuinely strategic investment by coordinating the EU’s various financing instruments more effectively, creating credible incentives for companies, and mobilizing new projects in sectors and regions of strategic importance. In Thailand and Vietnam, the EU must better adjust to the specific needs of each country. It must move at the pace expected by regional partners, adjust its strategic communication, deploy the Global Gateway as a tool for policy support, and finally, seek complementarity rather than competition when engaging on the ground.
