Singapore-EU relations are legally based on the 1980 European Community-ASEAN Agreement, stressing economic and commercial cooperation and technical assistance. Based thereupon, the relationship between ASEAN member states and the EU deepened over the years. In 2011, Singapore and the EU are negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) and concluding negotiations on an EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). The ongoing PCA negotiations address besides well-established cooperation areas topics such as politics, energy and environment. Singapore is the EU’s most important partner within ASEAN: Singapore is the EU’s largest export market in South East Asia and it is the EU’s 17th largest supplier of goods (mainly: chemicals, machinery and transport equipment). Around 8,000 European companies are present in Singapore.

Singapore expressed strong willingness to support international efforts directed at the non-proliferation of WMD. It perceives that “proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a particular and major threat to a small country” like itself. Export control is one essential tool to reduce the risk of non-proliferation. To that end, Singapore is an internationally active partner in the realm of export control, supporting national, regional and international cooperation.