The Council of the European Union's Asia-Oceania Working Party (COASI) is scheduled to meet on 9 July 2026 at 10:30 in the Justus Lipsius Building in Brussels, according to a notice of meeting and provisional agenda published on 3 July 2026. The meeting will cover the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Philippines, and future COASI agenda planning.
The working party will first adopt its agenda, then discuss the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), a key security dialogue platform in the Indo-Pacific region. The ARF involves 27 members including the EU, ASEAN states, and major powers such as the US, China, and Russia. The EU has participated in ARF meetings since 1994 and views the forum as a venue for promoting cooperative security and confidence-building measures.
A separate agenda item on the Philippines follows, reflecting the EU's ongoing engagement with Manila on trade, development cooperation, and human rights. The EU and the Philippines have a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in force since 2018, and the EU is a major investor in the country. The discussion may touch on recent political developments or EU-Philippines relations.
The meeting will also handle any other business (AOB) and plan future COASI agenda items. The working party, composed of diplomats from EU member states, prepares Council decisions on EU relations with Asia and Oceania. No decisions are expected to be taken at this meeting; it serves as a preparatory session for higher-level Council discussions.
Stakeholders impacted include EU member states' foreign ministries, which will coordinate positions on ARF and Philippines policy; the European External Action Service, which provides secretariat support; and the Philippines government, which may see EU policy directions influenced by the working party's deliberations. The meeting is procedural in nature, with no immediate regulatory or financial implications.