The New Zealand Europe Business Council Inc

NEW ZEALAND EUROPE BUSINESS COUNCIL PRESIDENT’S REPORT TO THE 2009 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

It gives me great pleasure to present the Report for the 2008-2009 activities of the NZ Europe Business Council.

Membership and Finance
Our functions have all been sponsored by European commercial companies and we expect this product promotion to continue! Accordingly the Committee does not foresee the need to raise subscriptions beyond their nominal level. Every mission or delegation or business council connected to Europe maintains a high level involvement in the business council. That has continued and it is pleasing that those member states that do not have missions in Auckland or Wellington continue to be involved from their accredited posts.

As you will hear shortly in the Treasurer’s Report the finances of the Council remain strong and there is a healthy bank balance and the committee does not recommend any increase in subscriptions.

Each of the bilateral business associations has held their own regular functions. Indeed just last week the Italian Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with the Embassy of Italy, hosted a business delegation lead by Hon Adolfo Urso, the Under Secretary of State for Economic Development of Italy.

On behalf of the New Zealand Europe Business Council there have been a number of functions and activities which I will now outline.

Bilateral Trade
Trade with Europe continues to flourish. New Zealand exported over one and a half billion dollars worth of lamb, half a billion dollars in dairy products and a quarter of a billion dollars of wine. In terms of the latter it is very noticeable in a visit to Britain.

The European Union remains New Zealand’s second largest trading partner. The connections remain strong with working holiday schemes with 15 European countries and a further 11 under negotiation. Our council is working hard to ensure New Zealand remains a preferred and easy trading partner with Europe.

Europe Day Lunch
The guest speaker for the annual lunch to celebrate Europe Day was the then Minister of Trade, The Honorable Phil Goff. Of course, Mr Goff was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1999 to 2002 and so was very familiar with the then Government’s policies and engagement with Europe.

Just under 200 guests assembled at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron to hear the Minister speak. A number of European companies provided sponsorship. I would like to make particular mention of and thank the Honorary Consul for Portugal for providing a wonderful selection of Portuguese wine, including a sweet port! The Minister outlined the negotiations of a new services agreement between the European Commission and New Zealand. He outlined the prospect of commencing negotiations with Europe for a wine agreement.

Mr Goff argued that the growing importance of sustainability and climate change issues will be increasingly important to New Zealand’s ability to successfully operate in the European market place.

He called on the European Union to work together to address sustainability issues in a thorough, science-driven way, and do what the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the United Kingdom has done to develop a comprehensive methodology to calculate the greenhouse gas footprint for products and services.

The Minister wanted to ensure that, unlike the discredited “food miles” concept, robust and accurate standards were developed which fully and accurately informed consumers.

In terms of the broader economic framework Mr Goff said he and the EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, had discussed the possibility of a stronger institutional framework to realise the full potential of the economic relationship.

Reception for Prime Minister Hon John Key
Just weeks after winning the 2008 election the Prime Minister, The Honorable John Key, agreed to attend a function hosted by the Business Council at the Consulate of the Slovak Republic in December 2008. At that function the Prime Minister announced that the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso would visit New Zealand in 2009. Mr Barroso was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Mr Key after the election.

The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of Trade Ministers to restart the Doha round at the earliest convenience.

As it turned out, Mr Barroso unfortunately had to cancel his visit to New Zealand. Let’s hope that it will be rescheduled in the near future.

Visit of Pascal Lamy
Together with John Waugh I attended a briefing by WTO Director Pascal Lamy (formerly also European Trade Commissioner) after his address to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on 6 March 2009.

Mr Lamy’s speech outlined the current economic challenges facing the world and the need to restart the Doha development round. His main message was “protectionism does not protect”. His concern was that developed economies would not be protectionist in this economic environment.

Estonian Foreign Minister Umas Paet
The NZ-Europe Business Council hosted a luncheon in April 2009 for the Estonian Foreign Minister. It was his first official visit to New Zealand.

The Minister opened the first Estonian Consulate located in Waikanae.

EU New Zealand Web Portal
Our web portal “Gateway to the European Union in New Zealand” www.eu.org.nz is a collaborative venture managed by the New Zealand Europe Business Council with the support of the delegation of the European Commission to Wellington. A special acknowledgment of thanks to the German Trade Office in Auckland for their maintenance of the site.

For the first time there is a portal of links to the existing websites of diplomatic missions, business associations, academic institutions and cultural groups.

It really has been a success and the number of “hits” has been phenomenal. Indeed the number of unique visitors in March 2009, for example, rose approximately 24% since the previous month. In other words the website is getting to be known as useful and people are looking at it.

The calendar of events, backed up by a database of entries of each event, really has become a one stop shop for business, members and for the public looking for information on things relating to the EU and upcoming events in New Zealand.

Market Access Team
The Business Council has been an active participant of the EU Market Access Team New Zealand. This team is made up of representatives from the European Union Members State Embassy based in Wellington, the NZ-Europe Business Council and the delegation of the European Commission. The short point is that there are very few market access issues relating to New Zealand. Companies and business associations are welcome to submit and contact the team if they are experiencing or are aware of any market access issues.

2009 Rugby World Cup
The 2009 Rugby World Cup will bring a lot of opportunities for New Zealand businesses in Europe and for European businesses in New Zealand. The event will be a high profile global opportunity for which European businesses, in conjunction with New Zealand partners, should now be considering how to leverage business opportunities. Teams confirmed as automatic qualifiers are France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy and Wales, but there are two other unconfirmed European contenders to be taken from the qualifying rounds.

Similarly in July this year the 2009 FIBA Under 19 World Championship will be played at the North Shore Events Centre. This event apparently is the third biggest sporting event in the world.

European teams include Greece, Lithuania, Spain, France and Croatia.

There will be other major sporting events in New Zealand with major European connections and again these represent opportunities for business expansion and development, particularly as international teams are inevitably sponsored.

Delegation of the European Commission in Wellington
I would like to acknowledge the work and contribution, as well as the encouragement and support, of the Chargé d'Affaires of the Delegation of the Europe Commission in Wellington, Mr George Cunningham. George has been superbly energetic and enthusiastic. He has a very consultative and involving approach.

I would also like to acknowledge the ongoing support and assistance of the Commission Policy Advisor Lucy Ross and Pamela Fontainas at the Commission who are untiringly collaborative and supportive.

On the other side of the equation I must acknowledge the Director of the Europe Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Mr George Troup and his team, for their assistance, dialogue and co-operation. The Deputy Director, Mr Nick Markwell, I am pleased to advise, has now been appointed as Deputy Head of Mission at the New Zealand Embassy in Stockholm and we look forward to working with his successor.

Committee
I’d like to thank the committee for their ongoing support and contributions throughout the year. The Vice President, Monique Surges, the CEO of the NZ – German Business Association, has been particularly diligent as mentioned above.

Peter Deutschler and Patricia Thake have been very diligent and thorough in keeping the record books. We end the financial year with a very healthy surplus and I thank them all on your behalf.

Daniel Silva as Portuguese Consul consistently sponsors our events with his famous products.

I acknowledge with much pleasure to Catherine Michiels who has just retired as President of the French New Zealand Business Council. She has fully participated in the functions and work of the committee. We are delighted that her successor will join us on the Committee.

Finally I acknowledge the Honorary Consul General of Great Britain and Director of UK Trade and Investments Mr John Waugh, whose hospitality we are enjoying tonight, have done so previously and hope will do so in the future!

Peter Kiely
President
New Zealand Europe Business Council

5 May 2009