E&OE
30 October 2008
Interview - Sky News AM Agenda
Subjects: EU Partnership Framework
PRESENTER: Let's turn now to Paris, where I'm joined by the Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, who's been meeting with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner. Minister Smith, thank you for your time. It's nice to have you with us.
STEPHEN SMITH: Pleasure. Good morning.
PRESENTER: Today, Australia has signed a pact with the European Union. This has been called a new partnership agreement. What exactly does it entail and how significant is it for Australia?
SMITH: It's deeply significant. We think it's an historic agreement. It really sets the scene for a much more integrated relationship with the European Union. It really takes the European Union to the front line of our international relationships. And it is a Partnership Framework that deals with all of the issues across the board, from strategic and security, economic, climate change, education and training. It really sets the scene for a deep relationship with the European Union.
But what I found today in my conversations with Foreign Minister Kouchner and the European Commissioner for External Affairs, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner, is that for many international issues of great challenges, Australia and Europe have similar, if not identical, approaches and positions.
And so this is a very significant development, and we're very pleased that we've been able to agree the partnership framework today.
PRESENTER: You mentioned some of the key challenges the country is facing at the moment. Of course, the big one is the global financial crisis. You've pledged to work closely with your European counterparts on this. We have heard a lot about the impact of a downturn in China's economy on Australia. But just how important is the EU economy, in terms of trade especially?
SMITH: Well, it's very important, both in terms of trade and investment. And certainly the current international financial crisis was the subject of very detailed conversations with both the EU and France and Australia, with France of course having the Presidency of the EU for this particular period.
But we made the point that we were very pleased that Commissioner Barroso from the European Commission, President Bush and President Sarkozy had effectively agreed that the international institution that we'd used to address globally the international financial crisis was the G20.
This is an argument or a point that Prime Minister Rudd had made in his address to the United Nations, in terms of using the G20. It's also a point that I made to Foreign Minister Kouchner when I spoke to him a week or so ago. It's a point that the Prime Minister made to President Barroso of the European Commission when he also spoke to him.
So we're very pleased that the G20 is the vehicle now for addressing these issues. It includes both developed and developing or emerging economies, and importantly of course it includes Australia. And the European Union will also be associated with the G20 for the financial meeting in Washington on November 15.
We're of course concerned about reduced international economic growth. But we think that the diversity now of our economy, which has got trade not just to China and India and ASEAN but also to the European Union, we're much better placed now than we were historically to absorb the lower economic growth. We know that there will be adverse consequences, but we think Australia is better placed than most other nations to deal with it.
PRESENTER: Today, we're awaiting Treasury's modelling on the impacts of an emissions trading scheme. A week or so ago, some eastern European countries plus Italy were threatening to block a deal to cut carbon emissions saying they couldn't afford it any more because of the financial crisis. Are hopes of a post-Kyoto deal fading, do you think? Is that the sense you've been getting in Europe?
SMITH: Well, it's certainly not Australia's view, and it certainly wasn't the view in the discussions I had today with France and the European Union.
I made the point that today we were publishing the Treasury reports as far as the emissions trading scheme was concerned, and that we expected to give that very careful consideration, and there was a prospect that by the end of the year or early next year, we'd be able to finalise as a Government the details of our emissions trading scheme.
There's a very warm reception for Australia, so far as climate change is concerned. Our ratification of the Kyoto Protocol was the first act of our Government and still resonates very strongly both within Europe and the international community. And so whilst we know there will be a lot of hard negotiations to go in the run-up to Copenhagen, we certainly remain of the view that we have to push forward with this long-term structural change. We've got to address the adverse consequences of dangerous climate change, and we think that we can work in good partnership with the European Union on that front.
But Australia's position and the sentiment I received back today was that we can't be pushed off by short-term financial economic difficulties. The dangers of not acting on climate change are much worse than any of the difficulties that we confront as a consequence of addressing it. And as well of course with every structural change, there arrives economic opportunities. And one of the things we discussed today was Australia's expertise, growing expertise, in clean coal technology and renewable energy. And these are also sources of attraction so far as Europe is concerned.
PRESENTER: Minister, on a completely different topic, we know that the execution of the Bali bombers is imminent, but have Indonesian authorities indicated to you when we can expect it to happen?
SMITH: Well, we know from discussions with them that the executions are imminent. I'm relying upon what we've seen publicly. My first thought when references are made to the execution of course is I frankly prefer that we didn't have the running commentary because every time we see a reference to it, it's a terrible reminder to the families who lost loves ones in the terrible attacks at both Bali bombings.
But the timing is a matter for the Indonesian authorities, and we're expecting that it will occur in the next few days. But again, we leave it to the Indonesian authorities as a matter of Indonesian legal and judicial processes.
PRESENTER: What's the latest in terms of security in Bali? Should Australians be going there? You have children. Would you let them be going off to Bali in the next couple of weeks?
SMITH: Well, I've made the point, I never make foreign policy judgements or give foreign policy advice on the basis of my own personal attributes. What I do say to people is to pay very careful attention to our travel advisory.
Now, Australia's travel advisory for Indonesia and Bali has been at the same level for a considerable period of time, which is people should consider or reconsider their need to travel there, and that's because we continue to draw attention to the dangers of terrorist activity. The commentary on that travel advisory has changed to draw attention to the pending executions because there is concern that in the aftermath of the execution, there may well be a heightened risk of terrorist activity.
So we urge Australians to carefully look at our travel advice, which is on the website. It's there for Australians to pay attention to. In the end, their ultimate decision about whether they travel or not is a matter for them. But our first and primary purpose for publishing our travel advisories is to look after the safety and security of Australians overseas. And we continue to indicate to them that they should very carefully consider their need to travel to Indonesia and to Bali.
PRESENTER: Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, unfortunately we've run out of time, but thank you for joining us from Paris on AM Agenda today.
SMITH: Thanks very much. Thank you.
[Ends]
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