The organizational structures of Asean and the European Union under a comparative perspective

Abstract

The conclusion of ASEAN Charter 2007 marks the crucial change to ASEAN, which founds a solid legal basis for deeper and wider cooperation. The Articles of the ASEAN Charter of 2007 pertaining to ASEAN bodies call for the bodies' tasks and obligations to be more consolidated and specialized than in the past. However, the ASEAN organizational structure has exposed certain weaknesses that must be addressed and improved in the future so that the ASEAN organs can operate more effectively. This article will analyze and assess the similarities and differences in the organizational structure between two institutions under the ASEAN Charter of 2007 and the EU organizational structure under the Lisbon Treaty of 2009, thereby offering some implications for ASEAN’s organizational structure improvement based on the model of the European Union.