President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, has asked Vice-President Hautala to represent him in matters concerning Asia and Oceania. Ranging from Afghanistan to Australia and covering a range of different cultures and religions, the file is one of the largest regional Vice-Presidential portfolios. The European Parliament has a number of bilateral and multilateral delegations to Asia and Oceania, reflecting the importance of the relations between the region and the European Union. Upon accepting the responsibility, Vice-President Hautala said that in her new duties she intended to focus on promoting democracy and rule of law, business and human rights, as well as cooperation between parliaments in Europe and Asia Oceania. She will also be leading the European Parliament delegation to the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP) Meeting, a part of the overall Asia-Europe partnership process, to be held in Brussels in June 2018.