The Europe-Asian Meeting, better known as ASEM, has the potential to be an important international forum. Its 38 members -- 25 from the European Union and 13 from Asia -- represent 40 percent of the world's population, 50 percent of global GDP and 60 percent of world trade. Their respect and preference for multilateralism makes them natural allies in the struggle to shore up international law and international institutions. But the group's promise remains unfulfilled. At the last ASEM, held earlier this week in Helsinki, Finland, there were pledges to tackle global climate change, but no commitments. As in the past, European leaders condemned the ruling junta in Myanmar to no avail.

The ASEM dialogue commenced 10 years ago in an attempt to strengthen the weakest leg of the trilateral structure of global power, that between Asia and Europe. The group meets every two years. Human rights have dominated ASEM discussions, or at least their preparations. Myanmar has been the biggest problem. The military junta's blatant disregard for the wishes of its population and its refusal to release Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi have meant that every summit has focused on whether Myanmar would attend. European leaders have insisted that they would not meet with that government's representatives, while Asian members have complained that Europeans cannot pick and choose whom to meet among their members. The result has been a stiff and formal discussion that makes little progress.

This year's meeting was no exception. The meeting began with the Finnish chair, the current president of the EU, calling on Myanmar to end its human-rights abuses, to release Ms. Suu Kyi and to respect democracy. Finland lifted the EU ban on visas to officials from Myanmar to permit Foreign Minister U Nyan Win to attend the meeting and hear the criticisms face to face, but he merely shrugged them off, clinging to the time-worn argument that his country needs more time. That may be true, but Myanmar has made no effort to reach out to the opposition and the plea for time is merely a stall.