New Ambassador for EU Delegation to Australia

Canberra, 26 October 2005

New Ambassador for EU Delegation to Australia

At 10am today, Mr Bruno Julien will present his letters of credence to His Excellency Major Michael Jeffery, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, and be formally recognised as the European Commission’s new Ambassador to Australia. The ceremony will take place at Government House in Canberra.

The Ambassador-designate said that his main goal as Ambassador will be to extend the already good European Union – Australia relationship. “I particularly want to contribute to the reinforcement of our cooperation on defence and security, and to further improve already existing bilateral agreements in areas such as research, education and the environment,” Mr Julien said.

“I also want to find new areas of bilateral cooperation, particularly in the promotion of sustainable development in South-East Asia and the South Pacific,” he said. “Australia and the EU can work together towards meeting regional challenges like terrorism, poverty, organised crime and environmental degradation.”

Mr Julien has worked with the European Commission in Brussels for 25 years. Most recently he was responsible for managing the 800 projects that form LIFE, the EU’s financial instrument for the environment. He was also in charge of the Commission Nature Policy for four years.

Prior to that he served five years as Spokesman to several Commissioners, and has worked on agricultural trade and rural affairs both in Brussels and at the Commission’s Washington Delegation. Before joining the Commission, Mr Julien was an Associate Professor conducting studies and research in the area of international agri-food marketing. He also held positions as Agricultural Economist for the UN Development Programme and various institutions in Paris.

Mr Julien has a degree in agricultural engineering and a diploma in Mediterranean agriculture. He is married to Monique and they have three children.

Mr Julien will serve as the European Commission’s Ambassador for a three year period. He replaces Mr Piergiorgio Mazzocchi, who was Ambassador for the European Commission to Australia and New Zealand from February 2002 – September 2005.

ENDS

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