Indonesia And The European Union Officially Reach IEU-CEPA Substantantial Agreement

The Indonesian and European Union governments have officially announced a substantial settlement of the IEU CEPA negotiations (Photo: Aris Nurjani/VOI)

BALI - The Government of Indonesia and the European Union officially announced a substantial settlement of the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) negotiations on Tuesday, September 22, 2025 in Bali.

The signing of this collaboration was carried out by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Airlangga Hartarto and the European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA).

This moment marks a milestone, marking the end of the negotiation process that has lasted nearly a decade since it began in July 2016. During the process, at least 19 rounds of official negotiations have been carried out as well as a number of meetings between sessions to reach this substantial agreement.

Maros emphasized that this achievement sent a strong signal to the world regarding Indonesia and the European Union's commitment to building a fair, mutually beneficial trade partnership, and based on international rules.

"Today, through this agreement, the European Union and Indonesia sent a strong message to the world that we stand together in a commitment to open, regulatory and mutually beneficial international trade," he explained.

He also expressed his deep appreciation for the hard work of the negotiations team from both parties, which he said showed extraordinary dedication in formulating this agreement and also highlighted the importance of Indonesia's position as the main trading partner of the European Union in the ASEAN region.

"EU and Indonesia have long had close trade relations. Indonesia, as the largest consumer economy and market in Southeast Asia, is the fifth largest trading partner of the European Union in the region. In 2024, our exports to Indonesia reached nearly 9.7 billion euros, which supports more than 15,000 SMEs in Europe and creates around 200,000 jobs across Europe," he said.

He hopes that the implementation of this collaboration will further expand and deepen trade relations between the two parties, especially through the elimination of tariffs of up to 0 percent in a number of commodities, including Indonesian products such as textiles, furniture, and footwear, as well as products from the European Union such as automotive and food.

Airlangga said that in the last two years it was an intense period of negotiation and after 10 years of long process, today was finally officially completed.

"With the signing of today's joint agreement, we are officially entering a new era in bilateral relations between Indonesia and Europe," he said.

Airlangga added that after the ratification process was complete, the IEU-CEPA agreement was targeted to take effect on January 1, 2027.

"We want to see the benefits of this agreement immediately. Of course, now and later, we will work to achieve the fastest achievements. Including, the Indonesian industry such as footwear, furniture, textiles and labor-intensive industries in Indonesia," he explained.