Commissioner McCreevy Farewells NZ, Australia

During his trip to the Antipodes, Commissioner McCreevy presented a speech to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on the EU Single Market in which he noted that the European Union and New Zealand bilateral trading relationship is very important, "amounting to over €9 billion, some 19% of New Zealand's total trade".

In an interview on Sky TV, speaking on the state of the European economy, McCreevy said "I'm always a little sceptical in saying things are definitely going to be very rosy in the garden of Europe in the coming year or so. I recognise what they term these green shoots – banks are reporting improved profits, they're going to be lending money out to the real economy, which will help people to go about purchasing new goods, starting businesses, and that will strengthen the economic recovery."

In Melbourne on 2 November, at a function hosted by the European Australian Business Council and the Global Foundation, Commissioner McCreevy presented the EU's policy responses to the financial crisis, concluding "We are striving to put in place a framework which will allow the financial sector to perform efficiently its indispensable function in the economy, while offering to all the users of financial services the protection they all deserve."

ENDS

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