Europe

Program 1.1

Overview

Australia–Europe relations were marked by a number of significant achievements.

After years of negotiations, the department finalised the Australia–EU Framework Agreement at officials’ level in March 2015. Our prolonged work on negotiating the Australia–EU Crisis Management Agreement culminated in its signing by the Foreign Minister and her EU counterpart in April.

In November 2014, the Prime Minister expressed publicly Australia’s interest in negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union. In response, the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom gave public support for the initiative, providing a strong start to Australia’s efforts to get on the EU’s forward negotiating agenda.

We continued to strengthen our strategic cooperation with partners in Europe. The Government was in lockstep with the European Union and key European partners in implementing sanctions against Russia in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, as well as other international efforts to uphold Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Marking a step up in our relationship with NATO, Australia became an ‘Enhanced Opportunity Partner’ of the organisation in September 2014.

Guest of Government visits by the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom to coincide with the G20 Summit in Brisbane in December 2014 consolidated strong relations with key European partners. The department supported the Minister for Finance as the Australian co-chair of the Australia–Germany Advisory Group, established by the Prime Minister and Chancellor Merkel during her visit to Australia.

Australia’s and Turkey’s membership of the G20 troika of immediate past, present and future hosts (Turkey assumed the G20 presidency in 2015), as well as our work together on the Anzac Centenary, brought a strong focus to bilateral relations.

European Union

In March 2015, the department finalised negotiations at officials’ level on the Australia–EU Framework Agreement. A treaty-level document, the agreement will elevate the institutional basis of our relationship and provide a platform for broader, deeper cooperation across trade, customs, law enforcement, counter-terrorism, the environment, human rights and many other areas. Following the conclusion of negotiations, we worked with the European External Action Service to prepare the document for signature, including through necessary legal processes. Signature is likely to take place in 2016, while entry into force will occur sometime afterwards as the agreement will first need to be ratified by all 28 EU member state parliaments.

The European Union, as a bloc, is Australia’s largest source of foreign investment and second largest trading partner. In 2014, foreign direct investment to Australia from the European Union was $170 billion, while two-way trade was worth $84 billion and two-way investment was worth $1.5 trillion. An FTA would help further strengthen our economic relationship.

Following Mr Abbott’s announcement of Australia’s interest in such a negotiation, the department undertook a series of informal meetings with EU counterparts on respective approaches to FTAs. We supported our portfolio ministers and parliamentary secretary in a number of meetings with European counterparts to advocate an FTA and promote Australia as a destination for European investment. The department consulted over 100 Australian industry associations, identifying a number of commercial opportunities and barriers in the EU market and building a good base of background information relevant to any future negotiations.

In April 2015, we supported Ms Bishop’s visit to Brussels where she and EU High Representative Federica Mogherini signed the Australia–EU Crisis Management Agreement. This agreement is expected to enter into force by the end of 2015, facilitating Australia’s participation in crisis management operations led by the European Union.

We further enhanced our strong development cooperation with the European Union by establishing an Australia–EU Development Dialogue. The first was held in June 2015.

Asia–Europe Meeting

The department supported the Foreign Minister’s attendance at the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) Leaders’ Summit in Italy in October 2014. We continued to build support among members for practical measures to enhance the quality of political dialogue between European and Asian leaders at ASEM. These measures included a retreat and more focused exchanges on specific subjects, such as the future of ASEM, disaster management and connectivity. The department orchestrated whole-of-government engagement with ASEM, including participation by Australian officials, academics and students at ASEM events on foreign policy, entrepreneurship, disaster response, human rights and food safety. This helped to build collaboration between Asian and European ASEM members in these fields.

European security

The Government consolidated ongoing Australia–NATO cooperation as the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan wound down. In cooperation with the Department of Defence, the department secured an invitation for Australia to become a NATO ‘Enhanced Opportunity Partner’ at the organisation’s September 2014 summit. This status distinguishes Australia from other NATO partners and provides a framework to sustain close Australia–NATO relations post-Afghanistan. The department supported Ms Bishop’s visit to NATO headquarters in April 2015, which included an address to the North Atlantic Council setting out our vision of the future Australia–NATO relationship.

Europe—bilateral relationships

In February 2015, the department coordinated and supported the seventh Australia–UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN), held in Sydney. Already at a high watermark, the bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom was further strengthened by initiatives agreed at the consultations. Chief among AUKMIN’s outcomes was the signing of an MOU on crisis cooperation which formalises reciprocal access to diplomatic facilities during a major crisis. At the meeting, ministers also agreed to strengthen cooperation on counter-terrorism in view of the threat posed to both countries from foreign terrorist fighters.

Relations with France continued to go from strength to strength. In addition to the historic visit to Australia by President Hollande, the department supported visits in April 2015 to France by Mr Abbott and Ms Bishop which focused on common security challenges. Through our embassy in Paris, we facilitated the formal agreement between Mr Abbott and President Hollande to deepen security aspects of the bilateral relationship, including counter-terrorism cooperation. To advance our economic diplomacy interests in France, we supported visits by the Trade and Investment Minister and Parliamentary Secretary, in addition to Ms Bishop, to promote Australia as a business partner.

During Chancellor Merkel’s November 2014 visit to Australia, she and Mr Abbott established the Australia–Germany Advisory Group to examine and strengthen the bilateral relationship. In support of the group, the department coordinated interagency agreement to proposals for cooperation in trade, investment, science, sport, culture, energy and education for consideration at the group’s first meeting in July 2015. We supported Ms Bishop’s visit to Germany in April 2015 for consultations with counterparts on international security and counter-radicalisation. We strengthened our development partnership with Germany by reviving the Australia–Germany Development Dialogue, which had been dormant since 2010.

While the Netherlands has long been one of Australia’s closest European partners, the tragedy of MH17 in July 2014 brought a new depth to the relationship. This focused on our shared interest in identifying and repatriating the victims’ remains and bringing those responsible to account. Following the downing of MH17, we supported visits to the Netherlands by the Prime Minister, Governor-General and Foreign Minister, and a visit to Australia by the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, in November 2014.

The department participated in inter-agency counter-terrorism talks in Turkey in November 2014 which led to increased information sharing on foreign fighters. This exchange contributed to agreement by the Prime Minister and the Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, to start work on an MOU on the return of foreign fighters.

The Government further strengthened its autonomous sanctions against Russia in response to Russia’s continued involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. We worked with the European Union and key European partners to encourage all parties to implement the Minsk ceasefire agreements. As part of international efforts to bring the perpetrators of the MH17 atrocity to account, we pressed Russia to support a full, thorough and independent international investigation, in accordance with UNSC Resolution 2166. Russia’s actions, and our strong stance in response, meant that Australia’s bilateral engagement with Russia was significantly reduced.

The department supported the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko’s visit to Australia, the first by a Ukrainian President, in December 2014. A temporary Australian embassy formally opened in Kyiv on 20 November 2014, with our first resident Ambassador to Ukraine arriving in January 2015.

We welcomed the foreign ministers of Latvia and Lithuania to Australia as Guests of Government and exchanged valuable insights on the conflict in Ukraine and the European response. The King and Queen of Norway also visited as Guests of Government with an accompanying business delegation. The department supported the conclusion of Work and Holiday visa arrangements with Spain, Portugal, and Slovenia. A visit in May 2015 by the Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia focused on business connections in IT security. Our embassy in Vienna supported Australia’s special guest participation in Eurovision in Austria in May 2015. In conjunction with SBS, the embassy used Eurovision as a platform for public diplomacy activities, showcasing Australia and its creative talent to Eurovision’s audience of over 200 million viewers.

We worked closely with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Department of Defence to facilitate Australian government participation in Centenary of Anzac commemorative events across Europe. We supported the Prime Minister’s visit to Turkey to mark the 100th anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli. Our embassy in Paris worked on a program of commemorative activities at the Western Front for the Prime Minister and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. The department coordinated an extensive Anzac Day program in Belgium, led by Ms Bishop, honouring Australians who died there during World War I. We also facilitated Centenary commemorations in Greece and Malta, including port visits by HMAS Success and STS Young Endeavour.

Outlook

The department will continue to work with the European Union and Australian stakeholders to advance trade and investment priorities in Europe, including preparations for a future Australia–EU FTA. We will work with the European Union to sign the Framework Agreement in 2016. We expect the Australia–EU Crisis Management Agreement to enter into force by the end of 2015.

The department will support Australia–Germany Advisory Group meetings in July and October 2015 to identify opportunities for increased trade and investment, cultural and social links, scientific collaboration and architecture for bilateral dialogue. The group aims to present recommendations to leaders by November 2015. Those recommendations agreed by governments will drive our engagement with Germany over the coming year.

We will continue to strengthen cooperation with key partners the United Kingdom and France, through AUKMIN and other high-level dialogues, with a particular focus on combatting common security challenges.

Bilateral relations with Russia will remain difficult until Russia ceases intervening in south-east Ukraine and fully implements its undertakings under the Minsk II ceasefire agreement. The department will maintain support for the Government’s commitment to work to secure justice for the victims of MH17, which may further strain relations with Russia.

We will build on the Anzac foundations of our relationship with Turkey and use the 2015 Year of Australia in Turkey to promote a contemporary relationship focused increasingly on global security and trade and investment goals.