The E uropean U nion as a Template for Regional Integration? The Case of ASEAN and Its C ommittee of P ermanent R epresentatives

This article compares the decision‐making structures of the A ssociation of S outheast A sian N ations ( ASEAN ) with those of the E uropean U nion ( EU ). It asks whether the EU is an appropriate template for ASEAN or whether, given the apparently unique circumstances of E uropean integration and S outheast A sian regionalism, analogies between the two are counterproductive. Attempts, for example, to model ASEAN 's C ommittee of P ermanent R epresentatives ( CPR ) on the EU 's C ommittee of P ermanent R epresentatives ( C oreper) throw into relief the latter's uniquely consensual modus operandi. Can this consensus be replicated by ASEAN simply by institutional mimesis? First, the EU 's evolution is briefly outlined; second, ASEAN 's institutional architecture is set in the context of the ASEAN C harter's innovations that most invite comparison with the EU ; and third, the two organizations are compared by assessing a ‘zone of discretion’ between setting ambitious, but realistic, goals for ASEAN 's greater integration and adopting structures that might be inappropriate to ASEAN .