As we enter our 11th year in 2019, and face the end of our third funding cycle, we have begun on a quest towards a more sustainable model of operations. We hope a new funding model could be found to ensure the long-term viability and vitality of the EUC. It is my fervent wish for the new year that the EUC will continue to serve our students and the broader public and policy community in innovative ways – bringing about more knowledge exchange, research collaboration and policy dialogue between Singapore, Southeast Asia and Europe.

May I take this opportunity to wish all a great start to 2019 and we look forward to your continued support for and engagement with the Centre.

- Dr Yeo Lay Hwee, Director, EU Centre in Singapore

The EU Centre together with its partners in the Jean Monnet Network on Challenges to Multiculturalism and Multilateralism are organizing a 2-week Summer Programme in Singapore and Maastricht in June 2019 to introduce students to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU). The programme will explore how these two regional organisations relate to each other and how ASEAN and the EU confront the challenges to security and prosperity.

We have published two booklets to commemorate the EU Centre’s 10th Anniversary (2008-2018). The first booklet chronicles the development of the EU Centre in Singapore and the second booklet introduces the EU, the challenges it faces and concludes that despite these challenges, the EU still matters.

On 4-5 October 2018, the EU Centre in Singapore and LeidenAsiaCentre co-organised the conference “Engaging a Global China: EU’s and ASEAN’s Perspectives and Responses”. This conference offered a multifaceted look into the challenges and opportunities of engaging a global China. The papers presented at this conference examined how different EU and ASEAN member states relate to China not only in the economic sphere but also in the political and security arena. Research findings on the motives and impacts of Chinese investments in the EU and ASEAN were shared. The conference also investigated the varied responses from EU and ASEAN member states to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Finally, the conference examined how people-topeople exchange through education, scientific and research collaboration can shape the long-term engagement amongst EU, ASEAN, and China.

Dr. Ben Wellings began his lecture by noting that contrary to the popular notion that Brexit was a popular revolt by those left behind from globalization, this was not really the full picture. Instead Brexit was an elite-led contingent project built on the idea of the Anglosphere, combined with some popular grievances. He then went on to elaborate on the idea behind the Anglosphere imaginary and how this relates to the political agenda leading up to the Brexit referendum.

Dr. Dufey began his talk by laying the context for the currency competition between the USA and China. He commented that the US tends to weaponize the role of the US dollar (USD) against its enemies as well as allies by restricting access to the international financial system based on the USD. No international bank can do business without having efficient access to the dollar. The issue of the international role of the three currencies—USD, the Euro, and Renminbi (RMB)—have become more complicated with the rise of China.

European Union Centre in Singapore
11 Slim Barracks Rise, #06-01 Executive Centre
NTU@one-north campus, Singapore 138664
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Jean Monnet Network (CMM)
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