The Implications of Closer European Integration for Australia and New Zealand (1)

This article is a companion piece to 'The External Implications of Closer European Integration' on pages 73-85 of this Review. It takes the ideas set out there and applies them to the case of Australia and New Zealand. It begins by exploring the structure of the links between the EC and the two countries and then examines how the changes have an effect. It concludes that current moves do not include the aspect of EC policy which hits Australasia hardest, namely the Common Agricultural Policy, indeed that closer integration with Eastern Europe may make the impact even worse. Consequently, the impact in total is likely to be small but individual firms, particularly those investing in Europe may be able to reap substantial benefits.