Australia, Britain and the EU

Résumé du document

The relationship between Australia and the European Union does not seem to attract much attention. Few books had been written on it, and the general impression is that this relationship is not put forward by neither Australia nor the EU. While many scholars focus today on the importance of Asia as a trade partner and a regional opportunity, and while the world's current affairs show how close is Australia to the United States, the European Union is often relegated to the second rank. Nevertheless, the EU is still a crucial partner to Australia.
In his article, “Australia, Britain and the European Union”, David Goldsworthy distinguishes three key themes of the relationship between Australia and the EU: its extreme asymmetry, its focus on trade and the particular role of the United Kingdom. According to him, these factors contribute in one way or another to the relative weakness of the relationship. The asymmetry is easy to grasp. As Goldworthy succinctly puts it, Australia needs the EU a good deal more than the EU needs Australia. On the other hand, Australia and Europe do share common values as Western capitalistic countries as well as a common history, linguistic and cultural links… The focus on Britain, the “historical” partner of Australia, should not hide the fact that Europe had greatly evolved in the past 50 years. The “Old Continent” has reinvented itself, and its relationship with Australia should not be defined only through Britain anymore.

Extraits

[...] Australian wine exports had been steadily growing for the past decade[2], notably in the United Kingdom and increasingly in Northern and Eastern Europe. Western continental Europe continues to be dominated by European wines, especially French and Italian. EU wine exports to Australia were worth million in 2006 and imports from Australia were worth million[3]. In June 2007, Australia and the EU reached a new wine agreement to replace the old one. According to the official European press release[4], the new agreement covers essential EU interests such as improving the oenological practices regime, including clear timeframes, and objection and arbitration procedures. [...]

[...] The general overview of the year 2006 denotes a global increase in Australian trade in goods and services. Exports especially are said to have risen by 25 per cent since 2005, allowing a decrease of the traditional Australian trade deficit. These good figures seem to be largely due to a large increase in gold export, almost entirely to the United Kingdom. The 2006 report also mentions that the 2004 new EU members are importing more and more Australian goods. In 2006 total Australian merchandise exports to these countries rose by around 40 per cent to $270 million. [...]

[...] Australia, Britain and the EU The relationship between Australia and the European Union does not seem to attract much attention. Few books had been written on it, and the general impression is that this relationship is not put forward by neither Australia nor the EU. While many scholars focus today on the importance of Asia as a trade partner and a regional opportunity, and while the world's current affairs show how close is Australia to the United States, the European Union is often relegated to the second rank. [...]

[...] energy issues, climate change and other environmental priorities; . science and technology, and education and training It is interesting to note that the trade relationship comes only second, after the global security interests, which is a certain sign of security's increasing importance in the world's affairs in general, and in the Australo-European relationship in particular. Conclusion At the very beginning of the first chapter of her book[10], Philomena Murray quotes the UNESCO Australian Representative Ken Wiltshire : Australia: a nation whose memory is in Europe, body is in Asia, conscience is in the Pacific and hip-pocket is in the US. [...]

[...] The Continent” has reinvented itself, and its relationship with Australia should not be defined only through Britain anymore. Trade is still the main component of the relationship between Australia and the EU, which reflects the importance of trade in the EU itself. The European Union was first, and remains largely, an Economic Community. Historical attempts at extending the role of the EU to the political and defence fields had been met with suspicion and rejection. Nevertheless, the EU is more and more active on the international scene, whether it be through security or environmental issues, and this shift affects its relationship with Australia. [...]