EU think tank: Asia is where the real action is

BRUSSELS, Belgium - With the recent change in the European Union's leadership, the bloc is in a period of transition as new leaders determine priorities.

Currently being confronted by issues of immigration, identity, growth and austerity, and enlargement, the Eurozone is said to have already come out of the crisis but is still in a period of introspection, said Shada Islam, Director of Policy at Les Amis de L'Europe, a European think tank. 

"I have to confess that having worked on Asia for so long, sometimes I feel that we're really on the periphery on where the world is at - and we are in the periphery. Many people are Eurocentric but those who really know the world realize that the real action these days is in Asia", stated Islam. 

While saying that there is a strong need for Asian policy in Europe, "the amount of activity, the energy and the dynamism that you have in Asia, even in the poorer countries, there is more sense of energy, hope and vibrancy than we have in Europe in the moment," she said.

"Economic power has shifted in Asia. And you can see it in Europe's surge for a role in itself in Asia," she added.

There used to be no Asian policy in Europe when EU think tanks like Islam's started pushing for it. Some EU think tanks even said that when speaking about Asia, China usually becomes the center of discussion. While China is important, as Islam described it as 'the elephant in the room' anywhere you go whether it's in Asia, Europe or America; she clarified that Asia is more than just China.

After three and a half years of hard work from all sides, there has been a rise in European interest for Asia which Islam thinks is very  good. 

The challenge for think tanks, however, is to keep that momentum up and see the beginning of European policy in Asia focusing on trade, investment and growth.