Berlin, 9 February 2026: The European Union's planned trade agreement with Indonesia (CEPA) endangers human rights, the environment and the climate and would hinder, rather than promote, sustainable economic development in Indonesia. This is the result of the publication ‘Between nickel boom and palm oil curse: A guide to the EU-Indonesia Agreement’, which PowerShift, Anders Handel and Misereor publish today.
The organisations call on the governments of the EU Member States and the European Parliament not to approve the agreement in its current form, but to call for substantial renegotiations.
"Indonesia is an important partner for the EU – but the prospects of the people concerned and the environment have not yet been sufficiently taken into account in the agreement", explains Alessa Hartmann, trade expert at PowerShift. Hartmann points out: "The EU Council and the European Parliament must take responsibility for: no green light for an agreement that accepts rainforest destruction and tramples on commodity justice.”
The EU-Indonesia trade agreement touches on key issues relating to raw materials, palm oil, labour rights, environmental degradation and social justice and has potentially far-reaching consequences for millions of people in Indonesia and Europe. In particular, the mining of strategic raw materials such as nickel and bauxite and the expansion of palm oil production for the European market pose significant risks.
“The sustainability chapter hardly mitigates these risks”, explains Theresa Kofler, trade expert at Anders Handel. “While a party’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement or serious violations of the International Labour Organisation’s core labour standards could theoretically lead to a suspension of the agreement, in practice this is very unlikely. Fundamental human rights, such as food, housing or health, are not subject to the sanctions mechanism.”
The “travel guide” provides a clear overview of the political and economic background to the agreement and analyses key provisions and the associated risks to human rights, the environment and the climate. It shows how the EU intends to secure access to strategic resources, while obligatory environmental standards or human rights safeguards are missing from the Treaty.
The publication ‘Between Nickel Boom and Palm Oil Curse: A guide to the EU-Indonesia Agreement’ can now be downloaded here: https://power-shift.de/reisefuehrer-eu-indonesien-handelsabkommen/
Published by: PowerShift, Anders Handel, Misereor, Attac Germany, Attac Austria, Umweltinstitut München, Forum Umwelt und Entwicklung, Network Just World Trade.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact:
- Alessa Hartmann, trade expert at PowerShift, +49 (0)30 278 756 32, alessa.hartmann@power-shift.de
- Theresa Kofler, trading expert at Anders Handel, +43 (0) 680 154 50 19, theresa.kofler@anders-handeln.at
- Armin Paasch, Business and Human Rights Expert at Misereor, 0241 442 515, armin.paasch@misereor.de
State of play of the agreement:
The agreement is currently in the process of legal scrubbing and translation into all official EU languages. Once these technical steps have been completed, it is expected to be authorised by the Council, signed by the Commission and ratified by the European Parliament by the end of 2026. In the meantime, further policy discussions and possible adjustments are to be expected that could influence the final implementation of the agreement.
