Media Release

7 May 2008

2008 EU-QANTAS JOURNALIST AWARD WINNER ANNOUNCED

Winner of the 2008 EU-Qantas journalist award is Economics Editor for The Age, Tim Colebatch.

Tim's winning proposal was announced on 6 May by H E Mr Bruno Julien, Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to Australia and New Zealand, before his National Press Club address.

Ambassador Julien said Tim's winning proposal was chosen from several high calibre applications this year, and focused on three parts:

• EU's progress towards a single European economy
• Challenges to the European social model from free-market reformers in Europe, and
• European measures to tackle climate change in the specific areas of electricity generation, vehicle emissions and aviation.

"I congratulate Tim on his winning entry. As we turn a new page in our relationship with Australia, I believe this is the perfect opportunity for Tim to visit Europe and to spread the word about the common ground our great countries share," Ambassador Julien said.

Accepting the award on Tim's behalf, fellow Age journalist Michelle Grattan, thanked Qantas, the National Press Club and the European Commission for making this award possible.

She said Tim is an avid writer of European affairs and has been throughout his career, and that this was the perfect opportunity to look more closely at what promises to be a fresh start in EU-Australia relations.

The EU-Qantas Journalist Award began in 1991 and it is conducted by the Delegation of the European Union in Canberra in conjunction with the National Press Club.

Qantas, has since the Award's inception, sponsored the Award with a business class return airfare to Europe. The Award consists of a three-week study tour of EU Institutions and up to three Member States.

"This Award is just one of the measures we undertake to help create a better understanding in Australia of EU affairs. We aim to give Australian journalists first hand experience in covering European issues. We do this in the knowledge that while the Brussels press gallery has some 1200 journalists, there is not one Australian journalist accredited," Ambassador Julien said.

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