Photo: George Cunningham, the Governor General and Florence Cunningham. |
...And Farewell Wellington & New Zealand!
On 22nd December, the farewells for the end of tour of duty of the Charge d'Affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation were concluded. The highlight was undoubtedly George and Florence Cunningham's formal visit to the Governor-General the Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae on 13th December. George Cunningham also made farewell calls on Foreign Minister Murray McCully, MFAT CEO John Allen, Head of Protocol Rob Taylor and the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps HE Mr Anthony Mongalo. Her Worship Mayor of Wellington Celia Wade-Brown and outgoing Minister for Pacific Affairs Georgina Te Heuheu were among the guests of honour at the EU Delegation residence's reception. George and Florence also received a departing gift of an engraved silver tray and flowers at a special event held by the Diplomatic Corps. The EU's global reach was richly demonstrated when the Heads of Mission and their spouses of Germany, Greece, The Holy See, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and the United Kingdom all held special farewell lunches or dinners for them: Deputy Prime Minister Bill English, House Speaker Lockwood Smith and Opposition Foreign Policy and Trade Spokesperson Maryan Street attended. Florence Cunningham, who heads the Diplomatic Heads of Mission Spouses Group, also attended a further series of functions for her departure. George Cunningham remarked at the end of it all: "My wife and I had a wonderful time in NZ. The EU-NZ relationship was successfully furthered. I am very grateful for all the generosity shown to us and wish my successor - Michalis Rokas - all the best in working towards upgrading the EU-NZ relationship to a treaty level agreement".
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Photo: Vice-Chancellor Rob Rabel speaking. |
Poland's EU Presidency in NZ Honoured.
On Wednesday 14 December, at the Wellington Club, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland closed its year of EU Presidency with a Gala Dinner. Amongst guests were NZ Deputy Secretary Chris Seed, NZ Defence Secretary John McKinnon, NZIIA President Hon Sir Douglas Kidd, Ambassadors of EU Member States, Switzerland and honorary consuls of EU countries. Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska summarised the challenges and accomplishments of the last 6 months faced by Poland as well as its local EU Presidency in New Zealand. Prof. Roberto Rabel, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International) Victory University of Wellington, the guest speaker, mentioned this year’s study tour he made to Warsaw. He presented Poland’s political and economical achievements on its way to independence and EU membership. Prof. Rabel mentioned the very good relations between Poland and New Zealand as well as EU and New Zealand. He repeatedly referred to the historical events Poland was involved in, which strengthen its position in a united Europe. Referring to the current situation in Europe, Prof. Rabel expressed his belief that the EU, as a highly integrated institution, will overcome the crisis.
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Photo: President José Manuel Barroso and PM John Key in Auckland last September.
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President Barroso congratulates PM Key.
On 14th December, Mr José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission, sent a congratulatory message to the Right Honourable Mr John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand:
"Dear Prime Minister, I would like to congratulate you on your reappointment as Prime Minister of New Zealand and wish you every success in the exercise of your second mandate. My colleagues in the European Commission and I look forward to working with you and your government with our ambition to upgrade the relationship between the European Union and New Zealand to a treaty-level agreement. It was a pleasure meeting you on your home-ground in September this year. I hope you will take the opportunity to visit us in Europe as soon as your time permits. I am confident that we will be able to work together in the excellent spirit of collaboration that we have enjoyed so far."
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Photo: George Cunningham, Beata Stoczyńska and Patrick Reilly. |
Farewell, EUCN and Auckland!
European Union Chargé d'Affaires a.i. George Cunningham continued his farewell tour to other parts of New Zealand. On 8th December, he joined EU Polish Presidency Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska and British Deputy High Commissioner Patrick Reilly in a diplomatic roundtable on the new European External Action Service at the EU Centres Network Annual Conference in Hamilton. He then proceeded to Auckland for a reception and dinner given by his close collaborators at the NZ-Europe Business Council, where he thanked both NZEBC and University of Auckland on the highly-successful visit of President Barroso in September this year, including the honorary doctorate given by the university. NZEBC was also thanked in particular for helping organising a high-level EU-NZ trade conference in 2010 as well as the EU's participation at Fine Food 2010 which helped European unpasturised cheeses enter the NZ market for the first time. The Europe Institute of the University of Auckland's seminars held with senior NZ politicians on Europe were also highlighted as good successes which contributed to raising the EU's profile in NZ.
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Photo:George Cunningham and Harry Duynhoven in New Plymouth.
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Farewell to New Plymouth.
George Cunningham, Charge d'Affaires of the EU Delegation, and his family are completing their four year New Zealand posting in mid January. His tour of farewells with his wife, Florence, and son, Curran, started on 21-22 November in New Plymouth visiting their old friend Mayor Harry Duynhoven. George Cunningham addressed city councillors and business people at the inaugural mayor's seminar on "New Zealand and the EU in a Turbulent World" at the city hall and also spoke at New Plymouth Rotarians in the evening. He was briefed on New Plymouth Council's latest initiatives by Chief Executive Barbara McKerrow and Chief Executive Venture Taranaki Stuart Trundle. A special Maori welcome was laid on at Puke Ariki Museum and Owae Marae in Waitara, hosted by the venerable Ron Tapuke and Maori elders.
For a full transcript of George Cunningham's speech, please follow the link here.
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