Jakarta: Indonesia wants the EU Indonesia CEPA signed before the end of 2026 so that the comprehensive economic partnership agreement can enter into force in early 2027. Economic Affairs Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto made the case through a ministry spokesman on 20 October 2026, and he said Jakarta is stepping up contacts with European institutions to speed up the approval procedure.

Work on the EU Indonesia CEPA is largely done. The two sides reached a substantive agreement in September 2025, and the legal scrubbing of the text ended in August 2026. In June 2026 the Commission sent the Council a proposal to approve signature and conclusion of the deal. The International Institute for Sustainable Development reported on 9 September 2026 that the Commission had also sent the related trade and investment protection agreements for signature.

Indonesian estimates put the prize at up to 10.9 billion dollars in additional exports. The figure is a government projection, so analysts will treat it with care, yet it shows why Jakarta pushes for speed. Indonesian palm oil, textiles, footwear and nickel products compete in the European market against suppliers from countries that already hold preferential access, and the EU Indonesia CEPA would narrow that disadvantage.

For Brussels the deal is part of a deliberate diversification effort. Singapore and Vietnam already hold agreements with the Union, the Philippines reached a substantial agreement in September, and talks with Thailand and Malaysia are continuing. Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia, so the EU Indonesia CEPA carries more weight than any of those partners and gives the Commission a strong reference point for the region.

The procedure still has several steps. Member states must adopt a Council decision to authorise signature, the parties must then sign, and the European Parliament must give its consent before the Union can conclude the agreement. Indonesia needs its own ratification, and Hartarto said Jakarta intends to run that process in parallel. The sources reviewed do not give a date for the Council decision, which leaves the year-end target without a visible calendar.

Sensitive issues in the EU Indonesia CEPA have not vanished. European farmers and environmental groups have long questioned palm oil and deforestation rules, while Indonesia has objected to the way the Union applies sustainability requirements to commodity imports. The sources reviewed do not describe how the final text balances these concerns, so a close reading of the published agreement will be necessary.

The next weeks should show whether political will turns into a timetable. If the Council confirms its decision in the coming months and the signing date is set, the EU Indonesia CEPA could apply in the first half of 2027. If member states ask for more time, entry into force will slip, and the early 2027 goal will become a reminder of how slowly European approval moves compared with political declarations.