Airlangga Targets IEU CEPA Documents to be Signed in October 2026

JAKARTA – The Indonesian government targets the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU CEPA) document to be signed in October 2026.

Currently, the completion of documents in the English version is being rushed before entering the ratification process in the European Union.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said the completion of the IEU CEPA document was one of the important stages before the free trade agreement between Indonesia and the European Union could be implemented.

“From the development of the IEU CEPA, the documentation in the English version has been immediately completed, and is targeted for October, hopefully it can be signed,” he said in a press conference, Friday, August 21.

He added that after being signed, the IEU CEPA document will be brought to the European Parliament for the ratification process. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the government will use the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) mechanism so that the implementation process can take place faster.

“After it is signed, it will be brought to the European Parliament for ratification. In Indonesia itself, the Minister of Trade has consulted with the DPR. Indonesia will use the Presidential Regulation mechanism because it has been discussed with the DPR, so that its implementation will be faster,” he added.

Airlangga assessed that the IEU CEPA could be a new lever for Indonesia’s economic relations with the European Union, especially in encouraging trade, investment, supply chain diversification, and strengthening the economic resilience of both parties.

“We see IEU CEPA as a game changer to strengthen trade, investment, supply chain diversification, and bilateral economic resilience in the ASEAN/Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

If the agreement comes into force at the beginning of 2027, Indonesia will gain market access with about 90.4 percent of direct tariff posts at 0 percent, and about 8.37 percent of tariff posts will be gradually reduced so that it is expected to expand exports of palm oil, footwear, coffee, furniture, agriculture/fisheries, and telecommunications.

On the other hand, the European Union will gain wider access to the Indonesian market, both for industrial and consumer needs, as well as obtaining more competitive product supplies.

Airlangga also hopes that the ratification of the IEU CEPA can encourage an increase in investment from the European Union in Indonesia, and the government encourages investment in high-value-added sectors, including advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, electric vehicles, digital, and pharmaceuticals.

“Now Europe is also one of Indonesia’s investment partners as a sector, and for Europe as well. In recent times, Indonesia has received many visits from European countries and they have brought large business delegations,” he said.

According to Airlangga, the acceleration of the implementation of the IEU CEPA is also important considering that Indonesia’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) facility will end at the end of 2026, so that immediately ratifying the agreement is expected to reduce the potential for market access gaps after the end of the facility.

Meanwhile, the EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam Denis Chaibi stated that his party was committed to encouraging the signing of the IEU CEPA as soon as possible.

According to him, the agreement also has the potential to increase the interest of European companies to invest in Indonesia.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for EU Member States to express their political commitment to signing the CEPA as soon as possible, and to follow up on the ratification process as explained by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga. This ratification will trigger strong interest to invest in Indonesia for European companies,” he explained.

Denis said that the visits of a number of European officials and business delegations to Indonesia were also potentially increasing after the agreement and the European Union Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is scheduled to visit Indonesia in late October or early November 2026.

“In addition, meetings like this allow EU Member States to interact more with relevant ministries, so that we can prepare for the implementation of CEPA and open up investment potential as stated by Coordinating Minister Airlangga. We are very pleased that APINDO also proposed a Joint Task Force so that business actors can be involved in the preparation of CEPA, both at the technical level and bilaterally with EU Member States,” he said.

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