9 May 2008

Europe Day celebrations mark the beginning of stronger ties with Australia

On Europe Day, 9 May, Ambassador Bruno Julien, Head of Delegation of the European Commission to Australia and New Zealand , said he looked forward to a new era in EU-Australia relations.

Ambassador Julien very much welcomed that EU – Australia relations have been buoyed by the meeting of Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, last month where they agreed to launch “a new era of creative engagement between Australia and the EU.”

Ambassador Julien said that a new EU-Australia Partnership Agreement should be finalised in the near future, which will give our relationship a renewed, clear and positive approach to business.

Every year on 9 May, the European Commission celebrates Europe Day – marking the anniversary of a historic proposal by former French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman. It was on this day in 1950 that Schuman called on all European countries to work together to merge their coal and steel industries and create the European Coal and Steel Community – the first building block of what we know today as the European Union.

Ambassador Julien said, “It is by pooling our resources and building even closer ties within Europe that we have unified our continent in peace; bringing freedom, security and prosperity to our citizens.”

“Increasingly, our internal achievements have an impact on our place in the world. With a combined population of nearly 500 million and a quarter of the world's income, the EU now accounts for over a fifth of world trade. We provide more than half the world's development and humanitarian assistance and the Euro has become the world's second most important international reserve and trade currency, giving major influence to the EU globally.

“Growing influence brings growing responsibilities. We are rising to this challenge by seeking to build a global consensus to tackle the issues we all face, be that international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organized crime or state failure. Beyond these challenges energy supply and climate change increasingly dictate the demands future generations will face.

“ Australia and the EU are now well placed to take our cooperation to a higher level not only to benefit our respective citizens but to help meet the global challenges we face today,” Ambassador Julien said.

For more information on Europe Day visit www .europa.eu/abc/symbols/9-may/euday_en.htm

Media Contacts:

While the Commission aims to keep its network free from viruses, you are strongly encouraged to check this email and any attachments to it for viruses, as the Commission accepts no responsibility with regard to any computer virus transferred by way of this email. Please properly accredit the Delegation of the European Commission to Australia and New Zealand when reproducing any of the content of this news release.

Updated May 8, 2008