Awarded annually since 1992, it is open to Australian journalists with more than three years working experience in print or electronic media. Qantas, which has been partnering with the EU since the inception of this prize, provides a business class fare for the travelling journalist.

Given the economic nature of Mr Crowe's application, the Chief Executive Officer of the Business Council of Australia, Jennifer Westacott, was asked to present the award alongside the EU Ambassador to Australia, Michael Pulch, and representatives from Qantas and the National Press Club in Canberra today.

"An impressive 22 journalists applied for the award this year that allows an Australian journalist to travel to Europe and explore in depth an issue of their choice," Ambassador Pulch said. "Mr Crowe's application was the outstanding submission due to its unrivalled research and detailed story outlines.

"We look forward to Mr Crowe's reporting on digitalisation which will be a priority for the new European Commission. Of course, trade will continue to dominate EU-Australia relations in the coming months and will feature in Mr Crowe's reporting from Europe."

The EU media team in Canberra and Brussels will assist Mr Crowe in devising a 10 day working visit during the coming months. His visit will include Brussels, the Netherlands and Spain.

EUROPEAN UNION JOURNALIST AWARD WINNERS (since 1999)