Ambassador Bruno Julien

Italo-Australia Welfare and Cultural Centre,

Perth, Western Australia

August 2008

A new era in AU/EU relations

While I understand perfectly well that Australia , and Western Australia in particular, has more than a vested interest in having closer engagement with its immediate region, and with Asia generally, I believe there are important reasons why Australians should not overlook or underestimate the value of its relations with Europe .  This should be the same for the European Union. Distance is less and less a tyranny nowadays.

Just a few weeks after being sworn in, the new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd paid a much appreciated visit to Brussels to meet President Barroso. This was a significant meeting where it was agreed to launch; I quote, ‘ a new era of creative engagement between Australia and the EU .'

It was important because Prime Minister Rudd made it clear that one of the key reasons he had decided to visit Brussels was to turn a ‘new page' in the EU-Australia relationship – and for it to become more ‘broadly-based'. 

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith later echoed these sentiments when he declared, “ We are committed to re-engage with the European Union”.

The Prime Minister's visit to Brussels was also preceded or followed by several Australian Ministers including Simon Crean, Kim Carr and Anthony Albanese.

From the outset, it was obvious that our relations were excellent because of the constructive and friendly cooperative atmosphere developed between the Ministers and the European Commission.

Naturally good personal relations are a fundamental element for establishing a good working relationship but this is not enough. When it comes to the substance, there must be other elements to allow constructive cooperation to develop. 

The Prime Minister himself, in a speech to the European Policy Centre in Brussels, outlined some of the reasons why the EU and Australia make natural partners:  

• Europe and Australia share the same principles of democracy and civil liberties.
• In two World Wars, thousands of Australians gave their lives fighting in ‘European' wars - wars which the creation of the European Union has made sure will never happen again
• 90% of Australians today can lay claim to European ancestry. These people-to people links are life enduring and form the very essence of good relations
• The Australian political and legal system is of European origin!
• The economic and cultural exchanges between Europe and Australia have always been and remain very strong. The European Union has been the most important trading partner of Australia for more than twenty years

On such strong foundations we had already built solid relations in the fields of peace and stability, economy, culture, education, research, development cooperation, and so on.

And with the advent of the new Australian government we now also have views that are more consistent with the EU position. Let me give a few examples;

• Greater emphasis on Multilateralism as one of the new pillars of Australian foreign policy. The EU very much welcomes the fact that Australia is now also willing to play a more prominent role in multilateral fora.
• Australia has fully endorsed the Kyoto protocol and is now an active participant of the post-Bali multilateral talks that should lead to comprehensive post-2012 commitments in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• In the economic field, there are important commonalities and synergies between what is happening in Europe with our so-called Lisbon Strategy on growth and employment, and what the Australian government is trying to achieve.
• In the Pacific region, the Port Moresby declaration, opening a new basis for improved governance in the Pacific States, corresponds to the views of the European Union.

These commonalities will make it easier to do more and there are several reasons why we need to do more together  - Australia and the European Union.

The answer lies in our respective roles in the world.  We are increasingly seeing a broader dimension to our cooperation, which goes beyond the rather static aspect of sharing similar values. 

Both Australia and the European Union are part of an increasingly globalized world in which we struggle to make sure that those shared values are upheld.  And, in particular, we both need to rely on a strong multilateral system to address problems like climate change, a top priority for the EU.

The EU, in military terms, is not a superpower.  But through the sheer size of its economy and its commitment to development, it is a major exponent of soft power and we are able to exert influence in all parts of the world to promote democracy, stability and security to help safeguard human rights including in the Pacific from Aceh to East Timor to Fiji .

In international conflicts, the European Union is often also a third voice – a voice of moderation and conciliation – which can pull situations back from the brink of armed conflict.

The EU and Australia are the two major donors in the region and we work closely together on many projects.

Australia and the European Union are thus working on broadening and deepening their relations and to do this through the adoption, this year, of a New Partnership Framework Agreement. We hope this will be signed during the visit of Foreign Minister Smith to Paris in October for the meeting with the French Presidency of the EU and the European Commission.

We are actively formulating this agreement with DFAT which has the 5 following common goals:

• strengthening bilateral and multilateral dialogue and cooperation in support of shared foreign policy and global security interests
• promoting and supporting the multilateral rules-based trading system, and consolidating and expanding the bilateral trade and investment relationship;
• enhancing regional and bilateral cooperation and coordination in relation to the Asia and Pacific regions;
• seeking opportunities to cooperate on energy issues, climate change and other environmental priorities and programs; and
• strengthening cooperation in research, education and innovation and facilitating exchanges of people.

For each of these goals, we are identifying the rationale for cooperation, the shared objectives and an agenda of concrete steps needed to fulfil those objectives.

So in a few months, we will have a roadmap and a well defined set of practical steps to implement it. Our relations will not only be stronger, deeper and broader but operational and result oriented.

A few good reasons for Western Australia and Europe to have closer relations:

I understand that many West Australians feel somewhat remote from Canberra and the east coast but I assure you there are many good reasons for West Australians to develop closer relations with Europe . Let me please present a few of them.

First, Western Australia is the gateway to Europe, almost 3 hours flight less than Sydney . The development of larger planes could be an opportunity in terms of hub access to Australia , allowing direct flights and economic opportunities for Western Australia in terms of tourism but also closer economic contacts.

The recent conclusion of a horizontal air agreement between Australia and the EU is paving the way for a new air liberalization agreement with Australia that will allow the further development of airline relations between Australia and the EU. The negotiation of this agreement will start in September. Transport Minister Albanese was recently in Brussels to meet his European counterpart to launch negotiations on air liberalization.

Secondly, when it comes to tourism, I have heard that the higher Australian dollar is impacting negatively on in-bound tourism from some parts of the world.

But this is not true of the euro-zone where the dollar has maintained its historic rate of 60 cents.  This means Europeans can still be attracted to Australia .

From what I have seen of the West it would not take very much to lure Europeans to this magnificent State, with your pristine beaches, your excellent wine, the magnificent scenery and most importantly, the sense of adventure that you can only feel when you travel through your Outback.

Thirdly, Western Australia is a good location from which to deal with the Asian world and I am sure that more European companies could benefit from this location to develop their relations with Asia .

Fourthly, Western Australia is the fastest growing state economy of the country and a promising land where obviously there are a lot of opportunities; the EU is already by far the largest investor in Australia , contributing to about 10% of the workforce employed in the country.

In terms of infrastructure development, essential for economic development, the EU can bring its expertise and knowledge, from ports to trains.

From a European view point, energy is a major concern, since we are very dependent on the outside world for our supply. Energy and environment is one important chapter of our bilateral relations that will no doubt increase with the new partnership agreement.

Western Australia is no doubt a very interesting place from that view point. European companies like Total, ENI or BP are already here and I am sure that there is scope for even more activities.

In terms of research, there is a lot of cooperation already taking place and joint research in the field of minerals and energy are certainly an area where we could largely benefit for each other's experience.

Environment (climate change, water, biodiversity) is also an area where we could easily increase our cooperation.

The European presence on the east coast is presently far more significant than in Western Australia . It is time to correct this imbalance.

What assets do we have?

There is the political will with a Prime Minister and a Federal Government eager to deepen and sharpen the relations with the EU - and the same can be said on our side.  The partnership agreement will be a good framework to forge the way forward.

In terms of trade and investment, European presence in the West is already plentiful but we can do more.

I do sincerely hope that we could call on a network of contacts to use the opportunities of expanding our bilateral relations in a more efficient way; a network of Europeans but also a network of political appointees eager to develop relations with Europe as it is now the case in NSW where a very active Parliamentary Europe friendship group has been created.

Let me close by saying that hopefully, next year, we will have a very visible window since the European Union has been invited as the guest of honor at the Royal Perth Show.

Thank you all for your attention.

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