(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-13 13:57

JAKARTA -- A visiting official of the European Union (EU) said in Indonesia that the EU will speed up negotiations on a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to local press Saturday.

Karl Falkenberg, the European Commission's deputy director general for trade, said negotiations had made some progress since talks began in May 2007.

"It's important for us to know where the individual ASEAN members are," he was quoted by major newspaper The Jakarta Post assaying.

"We have set the rather ambitious target of completing negotiations in about a year or a year and half, so we should be able to achieve some kind of outcome," Falkenberg told the daily, adding that the EU is interested in moving the talks forward rapidly and comprehensively.

Falkenberg will also hold similar talks with trade ministers of Brunei and the Philippines, according to the newspaper.