France, the EU and the South Pacific

France, the EU and the South Pacific Denise Fisher - ANU Centre for European Studies, Canberra Tuesday 27 March 2012 11.00 – 12.30.

France is a sovereign resident European power in the South Pacific by virtue of its three collectivities (New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna). As New Caledonia begins to prepare for a vote, by 2018, on the nature of the French presence in the future, it is worth reflecting on one of the wider contributions that France has made to the South Pacific region, through its membership of the European Union. At a time of changing strategic balances in the wider Pacific region and pressure on European budgets, this presentation analyses the role of France in shaping the current presence of Europe in the South Pacific.

Denise Fisher is a Visiting Fellow with the ANU Centre for European Studies. She has just completed a thesis on France in the South Pacific: Power and Politics. A former Australian diplomat, she has served in Australian diplomatic missions in Burma, Kenya, India, Malaysia, and the United States. She was Australia’s High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, accredited also to Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, and Malawi from 1998 to 2001, and Australia’s Consul General in New Caledonia from 2001 to 2004.

Venue: ANU Centre for European Studies, 1 Liversidge Street (Bldg 67C), Canberra
Parking: please see the Visitor Parking Map
RSVP: europe@anu.edu.au by Monday 26 March 2012

ANUCES is an initiative involving four ANU Colleges (Arts and Social Sciences, Law, Business and Economics, and Asia and the Pacific) co-funded by the ANU and the European Commission.