Partners in turbulent times: Nina Obermaier outlines the priorities underlying her representation of European Union interests in New Zealand.

• Author: Obermaier, Nina

When I arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand almost three years ago, the new EU leadership was just about to take office with Ursula von der Leyen 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 was 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 New Zealand in promoting human rights and democracy in the rules-based international order.

* promote the European Union's leadership for the green transition, the European Union's Green Deal and the European Union'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, on-line trade negotiations. Whilst 2020 and 2021 were disruptive years in many aspects, these priorities remained.

In 2022, New Zealand reconnected with Europe and the world. The highlight for me was the meeting between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and von der Leyen. The European Union and New Zealand have been partners throughout this challenging time and our partnership continues to grow as we still face turbulent times. However, the world has changed around us. We thought we were just recovering from the pandemic. But on 24 February 2022, 'recovery' became an illusion. War returned to Europe. Innocent civilians in Ukraine are falling victim to daily shelling, and more recently with targeting of civilian infrastructure such as electricity, gas and water supplies. Supply chains globally are disrupted again, and 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 poly-crisis is not exaggerated.

Three themes

How does the European Union, how do we respond together in these turbulent times? I will outline three main themes of our partnership:

* the European Union and New Zealand standing up against Russia's war in Ukraine and defending the rules-based international order, also in the Indo-Pacific region;

* the European Union and New Zealand as partners on climate;

* the European Union and New Zealand as partners for a brighter future ahead.

It is evident to everybody that the world is not the same as in 2019. Geopolitics is everywhere, and geopolitical 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 Ardern so eloquently put it in her lecture at the Lowy Institute last year, '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 and free speech suppressed and when one nation's democratic aspirations are crushed by an authoritarian neighbour. As New Zealand recognised immediately, this is not just an invasion. It is a war waged by one of the permanent five members of the...