Tony Blair and the British Government assume the presidency of the European Union for six months at a historic turning point for the organisation and possibly its relations and image in Asia and the international community.

That the European Union is at a historic cross-roads is widely accepted following the recent negative referendum votes on the draft of an EU constitution, but there is still only uncertainty, speculation and doubt about whether it means a complete break with the past or which road it will chose in the future.

One serious participant and analyst of the ASEM process remarked shortly before the Hanoi Summit meeting in October that it needed "to reinvent itself." Whether that dire observation was true, it does not appear to have been accepted, considered or acted upon at the recent ASEM Summit in Hanoi, which was supposedly dedicated to revitalising and substantiating ASEM.

The European Union needs to update its regional strategy for relations with South Asia in order to take into account the fundamental geo-political changes in the region and anticipate its possible role in these developments as well as other forthcoming far-reaching economic and trade challenges.