Brussels, 25/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - Brussels and Auckland want to deepen their partnership both in the political domain and in the economic one, and dream of the possibility of a trade agreement.
Meeting on the sidelines of the summit in The Hague on nuclear security on 25 March, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso agreed with New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key to deepen their bilateral relations in all domains - including in the political and security sphere, science and innovation, trade and investment. The idea is to transform the joint statement of 2007 - which governs EU-New Zealand relations - into a partnership agreement on bilateral relations and cooperation. This is in the process of being negotiated and, on Tuesday, the leaders called on the chief negotiators to work with a view to an agreement in the near future. The EU also spoke of its intention to post a full delegation with a resident ambassador to Wellington.
Van Rompuy, Barroso and Key agreed to reflect on the options to progress trade and economic relations, including the parameters for the possible opening of negotiations to liberalise trade and investment more between the EU28 and New Zealand - the second largest economy in Oceania. The parties decided to review the results and make a decision on the next steps in 2015.
Lastly, the parties agreed to continue their cooperation on the sustainable development challenges in the Pacific region, and also support the electoral process in Fiji. In addition, they agreed to continue their joint efforts to reach a world agreement on climate change. (EH)