European Asean Business Center (EABC)
What is EABC?
EABC is a physical centre aimed at facilitating market access for European business in Thailand, to promote Thailand and the ASEAN region as a high potential trade and investment market for European businesses.
The Centre is part of a wider strategy of the European Union to support the internationalization of European SMEs and to enhance market access, in particular in emerging and fast growing markets like South East Asia.
Who are involved with EABC?
In response to an EU Call for Proposals, bilateral European Chambers of Commerce based in Thailand have joined forces[1], together with EUROCHAMBRES representing all Chambers of Commerce in Europe and two sectoral organisations – DigitalEurope and EURATEX. The German-Thai Chamber has taken the contractual leadership on behalf of this Consortium.
Together, they will run EABC and look to establish a fruitful partnership with the relevant Thai business organisations.
Read the supporting statement done by the president of the 10 Chambers of Commerce
How will this be organized?
This European Centre will be established on the basis of some fundamental principles.
First: complementarity. EABC will develop activities and services which are not yet delivered by existing service providers such as National Chambers of Commerce, Trade Promotion Agencies. Instead, it will focus on those activities that have a clear European value added including IPR, FTA negotiations and likewise.
Second: public private partnership. While the European Union is financially supporting the creation of EABC, the ownership of the Centre lies with the European business community – those already based in Thailand and those wishing to enter the market.
Third: sustainability. EABC is more then implementing some actions which are co-financed by the European Union. The objective is to create an institution with permanent legal basis.
What will EABC do?
A first priority for EABC is to become the voice of European business in Thailand. All existing Members of existing bilateral Chambers will be invited to join EABC against a marginal fee. The Centre will establish a series of advocacy groups to identify those areas where market access and business cooperation can be improved. European companies will be invited to join such groups, depending on their specific interests.
Secondly, the Centre will develop services which facilitate economic cooperation between EU and Thai business: seminars, flagship events, publications. This will be done in synergy with existing service providers, both in Thailand and in Europe.
For More information Please visit EABC Official Website
Last update November 2011
[1] Included in the contract at this time are the British Chamber in Thailand, the Franco-Thai Chamber, the Thai-Swedish Chamber, the Thai-Italian Chamber, the Danish-Thai Chamber, the Thai-Norwegian Chamber, the Belgium-Luxembourg and Netherlands-Thai Chambers, the German-Thai Chamber. The Thai-Finish Chamber is an Associate. Other European Chambers or Trade representatives (e.g. Advantage Austria) may still join the consortium. 
The European-ASEAN Business Centre is a project co-financed by the European Union. The views expressed in this document do not reflect the opinion of the EU.