In 2007, during ASEAN's 40th year, the leaders of its 10 member states signed the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint. Hand in hand, they announced to the world that in 2015 ASEAN will be forming a common market resembling the European Community's, allowing products, services, capital and even labor to flow unimpeded among them.
2007 年東協成立 40 年之際，10 個會員國元首在新加坡簽署了劃時代的《東協憲章》和《東協經濟共同體藍圖》，手拉著手昭告世人：2015 年東協將以自己的模式，形成一個類似歐盟的共同體，讓彼此間的商品、服務、資本甚至勞工，自由流通無所障礙。