There is no EU in Asia

Recently I got involved in a discussion on my FB wall regarding the future prospects and development of the European Union.

One of my friends claims that EU should be only an economic agreement between the states, a free trade area because it will naturally bring development and closeness of nations.

My other friend claims that the EU needs tighter cooperation and better integration.

I am somewhere between them both, I think better cooperation is needed, but I would get rid of cucumber dimension requirements and other bureaucratic stupidity.

Last month brought massive protests against the decision made by the Ukrainian president about not joining Free Trade Area with the EU.

I got involved a lot, mobilized people for support, published columns, tweeted etc.

I have also realised several things, that the EU matters are irrelevant in Asia. I am subscribed to almost every major newspaper or press agency starting from Yonhap News ending with The Times Of India. No news from Europe was ever re-tweeted by these agencies, neither was it of any of interest of my Asian friends.

Although formally plenty of Asian states have their permanent mission in Brussels Asia does not understand the nature of the European Union. When they come here to negotiate or do business they separately speak with each head of the state. They do not exactly get the idea. What is the European Union? A union of states, United States of Europe? Economic Cooperation Zone? It is too difficult for plenty of Asian leaders to grasp meanders of the European decision making. .

There is an embassy of the European Union in Seoul, and a Polish guy is an ambassador. But what does this embassy really do? Do they give visas to all of the Schengen states? Is there a common trade agency?

There is an information about research offers in EU and plenty of information about Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, but nothing about EU-Korea business. 

If these issues are not resolved soon, EU will not get any recognition as a union of the states. It is so far treated a little bit like United Nations. EU talks a lot, but it is still better to speak to German Chancellor to talk business.

Cross-cultural business perspective

Koreans invest a lot abroad, though I have rumours that these are also smaller companies associated under the global Korean brands to make things easier.

Once they invest, like for example here in Poland, in Development Centers (Samsung) it is more or less cool, as engineers have jobs and nice things can be done.

But there are also manufacturing businesses located like LG or others.

The Polish - Korean romance in global business reaches 90's as Deawoo FSO was established to help the FSO save jobs and production. But as the Deawoo collapsed in 1997 during Korean crisis, Daewoo FSO was just quit and shut down despite of good revenues and nice cars produced and sold. Shit happens. Still Llanos is considered one of the better cars with optimal relation of the price to quality.

Later more businesses opened. And people employed started their dream jobs in many corners of Poland touched by unemployment. Soon several companies like Humax and Toshen, but also LG faced criminal charges for worker's rights abuse. Mostly women were forced to work up to 15 hours a day with a very limited payment and with no possibility to use a bathroom or eat a sandwich. If they raised their rights coded in EU law up, they were either beaten or shouted at and threatened to loose their jobs.

There are cross-cultural relations in behavior, attitude and aproach to work. I often advice on cross-cultural European- East Asian misperceptions and miscommunications. But this time I have a message to our Korean counterparts: Once in Rome, do as Romans do. If you enter our culture- adjust and learn as well, this saves trouble for both sides.

If you want to make a Polish person, wether a woman or a man, work efficiently, give flexibility and payrise. Appreciate and motivate. Shouting or yealing doesn't work on us.