EUROPE UPDATE seminar: Current Challenges, Future Perspectives
The Foreign Minister of Sweden, Laila Freivalds, will join a host of other high-profile speakers including the Chairman
of Ericsson, Michael Treschow, and Chief Executive of the Minerals Council of Australia, Mitch Hooke, in a three-hour
seminar on contemporary Europe - tomorrow, Tuesday 8 November.
As a global player facing challenges and opportunities on many fronts, Europe in the 21st Century is a dynamic and
exciting place.
The National Europe Centre at the Australian National University and the Delegation of the European Commission to
Australia and New Zealand have joined forces to present Europe Update: Current Challenges, Future Perspectives.
The seminar will see authoritative speakers give presentations on contemporary European themes and the EU’s political
and economic future. Minister Freivalds will speak about the European Union as a global actor in her keynote address,
and Mr Treschow will look at the changing face of European business. Australia’s former Ambassador to the WTO and to the
European Union, Mr Don Kenyon, will cover new perspectives for the EU-Australia trading relationship, and the new
Ambassador for the European Commission to Australia, Mr Bruno Julien, will present his mandate for the next three years.
Esteemed Australian political scientist, Dr Coral Bell will speak on the role of Europe in a multipolar world and the
University of Melbourne’s Associate Professor Philomena Murray will look into Europe’s future.
Europe Update: Current Challenges, Future Perspectives will be held at the Telstra Theatre at the Australian War
Memorial and will be opened by ANU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Chubb.
What role will the EU play in the evolving geopolitics of the future? How is Europe dealing with the setbacks over the
Constitutional Treaty, the challenges of enlargement and the spectre of terrorism? What will the EU-Australia
relationship look like in the future?
Europe Update: Current Challenges, Future Perspectives will seek to give a snapshot of Australia’s most significant
economic partner, and a powerful actor in world affairs - Europe.