On Monday 28th of November, Nina Obermaier addressed New Zealand Institute of International Relations (NZIIA) at Victoria University of Wellington, providing an appraisal of global crises and their implications for relations between Aotearoa New Zealand and the EU. 

Many thanks to NZIIA and Executive Director, Hamish McDougall, Q&A Moderator Mike Burrell from Sustainable Business Council and Dr Serena Kelly from National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE) for chairing the evening. 

Full speech can be found below.

Opening comments

E nga mana tiketike, rau rangatira ma.

Tenei aku mihi nui ki a koutou, i runga i tenei kaupapa nui,

e whakahuihui nei i a tātou.

Your Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends, distinguished guests, good evening.

Tenei te mihi ki te mana whenua, Te Āti Awa me Taranaki Whanui.

Kei te mihi ki a koutou, the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs/Whare Taawahi-a-mahi i Aotearoa and Director Hamish McDougall, as well as Dr Serena Kelly for welcoming me to speak with you this evening.

Kei te mihi ki a koe Mike Burrell, Executive Director of the Sustainable Business Council for moderating this evening. I hope we have some good dialogue between us [Mike & Nina] and also with you all here, online and in person. Many thanks to all of you for your interest in EU and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Introduction

When I arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand almost 3 years ago, the new EU leadership of Ursula von der Leyen was just about to take office as our first woman Commission president, Brexit seemed to be almost behind us and (what was hoped to be) the last year of the Trump administration about to begin.

The priorities for my work here were clearly cut out. Actually, despite the many unexpected developments over the last years, they have not changed,:

• build on the excellent partnership established with Aotearoa New Zealand in promoting human rights and democracy in the rules-based international order.
• promote the EU’s leadership for the green transition, the EU’s Green Deal and the EU’s goal to be the world’s first climate neutral continent,
• support the Free Trade Agreement negotiations,
• Strengthen and or create connections between our societies wherever of interest to both of us.

I had a brief spell of normality in December and January, then came the pandemic and with it EU repatriation flights, common experiences of lockdown, Zoom diplomacy & and for two years, online trade negotiations. Whilst 2020 and 2021 were disruptive years in many aspects, these priorities remained.

In 2022, New Zealand has been reconnecting with Europe and the world. The highlight for me was the meeting between PM Ardern and President von der Leyen. More about its outcome later! EU and NZ have been partners throughout this challenging time and our partnership continues to grow as we continue to face turbulent times.

However, the world has changed around us. We thought we were just recovering from the pandemic. But on 24^th February, “recovery” became an illusion. War returned to Europe, innocent civilians in Ukraine are falling victim to daily shelling, and in recent days with targeting of civilian infrastructure such as electricity, gas and water supplies. Supply chains globally are disrupted again, parts of the world are facing a food security crisis. Effects of climate change are violently manifest again and again, in Europe, Pakistan, and closer to home, Nelson. Talk of a polycrisis is not exaggerated.

How does the EU, how do we respond together in these turbulent times? I would like to outline 3 main themes of our partnership.

Theme 1: EU and NZ standing up against Russia’s War in Ukraine and defending the RBIO, also in the Indo-Pacific.

It is evident to everybody that the world is not the same as in 2019. Geo-politics is everywhere, and geo-political considerations seem to determine actions and policies of the major actors more than at any time since the end of the Cold war. Or, as PM Ardern so eloquently put it in her lecture at the Lowy Institute: “the world is bloody messy.”

The most brutal expression of that today is Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which shows us what happens when international law is violated, when human rights are breached, free speech is suppressed, and when one nation’s democratic aspirations are crushed by an authoritarian neighbour.

As Aotearoa New Zealand recognised immediately, this is not just an invasion. It is a War waged by one member of the Permanent Five Members of the UN Security Council, who then blocked attempts to debate it. It is a fundamental challenge to the Rules-based international order. Might cannot become right.

As I recall the ongoing War in Europe, I acknowledge New Zealand’s solidarity - military, legal, financial, and coordination at the UN.

Votes at the UN General Assembly have repeatedly demonstrated the global community’s repudiation of Russia’s War with vast majorities. However, beyond the 27 Member States of the European Union, only 14 have instigated sanctions against Russia. Aotearoa New Zealand is among those, for the first time without a Security Council mandate. Sincerely, aroha nui.

Europe can count on New Zealand. New Zealand can count on Europe.

A cherished personal example of this was Europe Day. With not much more than a month’s notice, we held a concert with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in support of Ukraine. NZSO willingly and freely gave their skill in support of a country far, far away and in support of two Orchestra members who are themselves Ukrainian. We had a packed audience – people were eager to be there. It was a spine-tingling night.

We in the European Union are friends and partners with Aotearoa New Zealand because we hold common values. We have a shared belief in universal human rights, democracy, multilateralism and rule of law. And when these values are under attack, as they are now in our neighbourhood, shockingly in our continent, we stand together. Like-mindedness is not just a word.

NZ’s commitment to building the ruled-based international order well known and recognised, as exemplified with the visit by WTO Director General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala earlier this week who highlighted New Zealand´s disproportionate contribution to the global rules-based trading system.

Rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific region show defending the rules-based international order is equally important closer to New Zealand´s home.

The region´s growing economic, demographic and political weight makes it a key player in shaping the rules-based international order and in addressing global challenges.

And also here in the Pacific, the EU and New Zealand are partners. PM Ardern, in her speech at the Lowy Institute I quoted earlier and in the face of rising tensions in the region said that “as New Zealand looks to the wider Indo Pacific, we seek to ensure that the intensity of our engagement is increasing, and we call for others to do the same.”

The EU has been present in the Pacific for a long time. With its Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, we are stepping up our engagement and our contribution to stability, prosperity and sustainable development in the region, in line with the principles of democracy, rules of law, human rights and international law, just as New Zealand has been doing for many years.

Yet geopolitical competition should not distract us from what Pacific countries themselves have named, loud and clear, as their top concern: climate change.

Many here today will know that climate action is the EU’s long-term objective via the European Green Deal. We have an ambitious response and again, it is a fight we cannot win alone.

Theme 2: EU and NZ as partners on climate

What has continued since 2019 is the European Green Deal. We will be the first climate neutral continent. Regardless of recent turbulence, the EU is committed to the green transition, now more than ever:

Let me say it again, the War in Ukraine has not dampened our climate ambitions. On the contrary, it has accelerated them. These past nine months have seen a rapid drop in our energy imports from Russia. We are well on the path to end dependency on (Russian) fossil fuels. At the start of the year, Europe imported 40% of its oil from Russia. We’re down to 9% now. Remember, this time last year, such a leap would have been thought an impossibility. Here, sustainability meets solidarity.

You will have seen the EU’s commitment to climate action two weeks ago at COP27. That was a tough week. The EU stayed strong on mitigation. We nearly walked away because the deal was not good enough. Such is our frustration at the lack of commitment by the world's major emitters to phase down fossil fuels, nor make new commitments on climate mitigation.

The EU is a bridge-builder, however, between donors and vulnerable communities. We helped, together with New Zealand, to put in place balanced new funding arrangements, with an expanded donor base to help vulnerable communities. We have made some progress to face the loss and damage caused by climate change.

So much more needs to be done to keep the planet liveable. As with Russia’s War on Ukraine, climate effects are borne thousands of kilometres from their cause. There are food crises in the Global South caused by fertiliser price hikes. So too is the Global South ill-equipped to rebuild & restore infrastructure after extreme weather events.

As President von der Leyen said at the conclusion of COP27, we have treated some of the symptoms but not cured the patient from its fever.

We have a shared responsibility to the planet, to meet our Paris targets, on adaptation, loss & damage. Hats off to the New Zealand negotiators who successfully contributed to completing the Paris Rulebook.

The EU is a bigger bloc and we take a bigger responsibility. To illustrate, the EU is the world’s Number 1 climate finance partner with USD 27 billion contributed only last year. But New Zealand has also stepped up its commitments, with a quadrupling of its climate finance and a strong focus on the Pacific.

Partners also in climate action: one of the outcomes from PM Ardern & President von der Leyen’s meeting at the end of June is a commitment to deepen and elevate the status of bilateral dialogue and cooperation on climate change. We can do more together.

On top of what we are doing already! Let me give a couple of examples where we are partnering with New Zealand and learning from each other.

• Climate action doesn’t only happen at UN level, but in our cities and regions. Between New Plymouth and Vilnius, Nelson Wakatū and Lemvig, Christchurch and Málaga/ Vitoria-Gasteiz, there is work underway to build better urban sustainability. I’m talking about our buildings, green spaces, waste, mobility. This is facilitated through the EU programme IURC. IURC is global in reach and last year reached Aotearoa.
• Working towards common goals in Pacific:

• renewable energy projects in Kiribati, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tuvalu.
• KIWA Initiative. Together (with France, Canada & Australia and Aotearoa), we are working on adaptation to boost biodiversity and strengthen resilience across the Pacific. Let’s expand this.
• And of course when it comes to reducing agricultural emissions, NZ’s research is cutting edge.

Theme 3: EU and NZ: partners for a brighter future ahead

Which brings me to the FTA. The conclusion of trade negotiations this year is a tremendous achievement and the biggest step in EU & NZ relations in our bilateral relations.

Undeniably, the EU FTA with New Zealand is set within the context of global turbulence. On trade, the EU and New Zealand response to that turbulence is definitely progressive and ambitious.

We go beyond market access, which is not to say that market access is not addressed. 91% of NZ’s current goods trade to the EU will enter duty free from day one, rising to 97% after seven years. It is not nothing, even as I acknowledge that your meat and dairy sectors hoped for more. Ours hoped for less.

We’re looking to the future, towards what high-income, discerning European customers want and New Zealand producers can provide. The texts in the agreed deal with New Zealand on sustainability set a gold standard for EU FTAs.

• It sets a new international benchmark in the nexus of trade & sustainability. This is the first of a new generation of “green and just” trade deals. It reflects the high ambition of both parties on these issues.
• On climate, the agreement commits the EU and New Zealand to effectively implement the Paris Agreement and to work together on climate-related matters, including carbon pricing and the transition to a low-carbon economy.
• As in other agreements, TSD commitments are legally binding and enforceable. The deal with New Zealand is the first of its kind to include sanctions, as a matter of last resort, in instances of serious violations of core TSD commitments (ILO, Paris Agreement).

It is a modern comprehensive agreement with many more “FTA Firsts”, some of which are:

• We are excited to have the Māori Trade & Economic Cooperation Chapter. A first for the EU. The Chapter identifies areas to develop business links between Māori and EU enterprises and extract full benefit from the FTA. Right across the FTA is the aim to promote and protect Māori rights and interests.
• A first ever chapter on Sustainable Food Systems Chapter: cooperation on food systems issues like food production methods and practices; the environmental and climate impacts of food production; food loss and waste; policies and measures that cause environmental harm; and indigenous knowledge, participation, and leadership in food systems.

A word on timeframe. The importance of this deal is well understood by Brussels. Already in September, we had a visit from INTA, the European Parliament Trade Committee.

The INTA Committee was particularly interested to hear what NZ civil society has to say about the FTA - not just government & business groups. The social licence for trade is always on our mind, as we know is the case also here. Civil society has a prominent role in the implementation of the FTA. INTA is sensitive to civil society voices – and this will not end at ratification, but is an ongoing mandate.

Our respective teams have just completed the legal revision in record speed. This was a key milestone in order to be able to keep up with the ambitious timeline we have set ourselves. Both PM Ardern and President von der Leyen have a shared goal to sign the agreement in the middle of 2023, which would set a timer to enter into force in 2024.

These significant achievements are accompanied by EU-New Zealand cooperation across many areas under our Partnership Agreement: I have already mentioned climate action, but there is more on the way for digital, agriculture, health and security. In all, we see there will be win-wins for both.

Finally, I want to flag one more area. I anticipate greater research collaboration between the EU and New Zealand, in the near future via Horizon Europe, the world’s largest research platform. Even in the week leading up to Christmas, we will have negotiators in-country working with MBIE to pin this down. Research is an area where Kiwi ingenuity meets Europe's scale and strategy.

This cooperation on the areas I have talked about tonight - our shared values, climate action and trade – it is underpinned by our shared concerns for the wellbeing and prosperity of our peoples and of the rest of the world.

While there is turbulence around the European Union, the EU responds by reaching for and reasserting its core values. In keeping with its nature, the EU does not do this alone but seeks friends who share these core values, as New Zealand does.

By bringing together the strengths of Aotearoa and the European Union, we make a partnership for the long term, one that endures and opens new doors. We benefit our peoples.

Ngā mihi nui.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa