BRUSSELS, Feb. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- The European Commission said on Thursday that it welcomed a joint drive to combat spam email from Europe and Asia.

    The European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed an accord at a conference on electronic commerce earlier this week in London, the EU's executive arm said in a press release.

    "The EU cannot act alone in the fight against spam as it is essentially borderless," EU information society and media commissioner Viviane Reding said in a statement.

    "It is crucial that the problem be taken seriously in every part of the world and in particular in regions where a lot of spam is reported to originate," she added.

    A total of 25 European and 13 Asian countries, including China and Korea, attending the conference agreed in a joint statement to take action to fight spam nationally and to promote anti-spam efforts in international organizations and by industry.

    According to various industry sources, over 60 percent of global email traffic is spam. Worryingly, spam email undermines consumer confidence in e-commerce and the Information Society.

    Analysts believe that success in combating spam is vital to boost trade and investment through on-line technologies. Enditem