Jakarta. Presidential hopefuls -- Prabowo Subianto, Ganjar Pranowo, and Anies Baswedan -- are about to go on another debate later this evening with this round focusing on international relations, among others, and ties with the European Union (EU) will likely come up.

Indonesia today is embracing a “free and active” foreign policy – meaning that the country is not aligning with any major power. Prabowo has said that he wanted a “good neighbor policy” should he win the election, saying: “1,000 friends are too few, one enemy is too many.” Ganjar is planning to maintain Indonesia’s current approach to international relations. But by “free”, it should mean that the country has the freedom to design much more strategic policies. Anies has said he sought to shift towards a non-transactional, value-led policy, saying that Indonesia has been too focused on attracting economic gains.

But speaking of the EU, Prabowo -- whose running mate Gibran Rakabuming is Jokowi’s eldest son -- did not hold back on his criticism towards the European bloc. Albeit his “good neighbor policy”, Prabowo criticized the EU as having double standards, demanding the bloc treat Indonesia equally. He was critical of the EU's anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR), which can hamper Indonesian commodities like palm oil, coffee, cocoa, and rubber, among others, from entering the European market.

“Sometimes there is a bit of unfairness. I think we [Indonesia] are being too kind, it is not about being overly nationalistic. We want equal treatment and fairness. ... It was the Europeans who came to our islands and forced us to plant tea, coffee, and rubber. ... And now you are saying that we are destroying our forests? You destroyed our forests before,” Prabowo said at the recent Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) forum, alluding to the colonial era.

Speaking at a separate CSIS conference, Anies called for a reassessment of the Indonesia-EU relations, meaning that both sides need to sit together to find out what needs to be improved, corrected, and stopped on their bilateral ties. He added: “If we are only going to do business as usual, … we are not going anywhere.”

News agency Tempo reported that Ganjar would continue Indonesia’s fight against the EU at the World Trade Organization (WTO). This includes fighting for Indonesia’s right to process its natural minerals. Indonesia today is dealing with a WTO lawsuit that the EU launched after it decided to stop exporting unprocessed nickel ores.

“That should not be a question,” Ganjar said when asked by Tempo about his plans to fight for Indonesia’s rights to process its minerals at home.

The presidential debate will start at Istora Senayan Jakarta at 7 p.m. sharp.

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