Foreign Minister Murray McCully says New Zealand has worked on shoring up its relations with other European countries which will limit any ramifications for New Zealand if the United Kingdom votes to leave the EU.
The referendum in which UK voters will decide whether to stay with the EU is on June 23 and recent polls have shown an increase in support for the Brexit (the pro-leave British exit) camp as it nears. Polling shows the two camps are still very close.
Prime Minister John Key has said he would prefer it if the UK stayed in the EU.
Mr McCully said the impact of a Brexit result on New Zealand would be “changes in degree only”.
“If the UK were to leave the EU, it would mean an increasing reliance by us on other relationships in Europe that we have regarded as increasingly important anyway.
“It obviously is easier if the UK is in, because we’ve got a large traditional friend that remains a member.
“But we’ve been working on the assumption for quite some time that we can’t be complacent about the European relationship.”
France is considered to be the toughest nut for New Zealand to crack, especially in agriculture.
Mr McClay said his meeting with France was “very positive” although it was likely there would be sticking points around agriculture and geographical indicators.
“But there is a growing acceptance that the best place to deal with any issues is in negotiations so I’m very pleased with progress.”
Labour leader Andrew Little said while it was up to the people of the United Kingdom, his personal view was that it should remain within the EU.
The UK was one of New Zealand’s biggest allies in the EU and Mr Little said that would be lost if Brexit won.
“In terms of the ability to influence what happens in the EU, we are at a significant disadvantage.”
What a load of bulldust. Our influence in and through the UK has been waning for the last 20 years or so. If anything, a UK outside of Europe provides New Zealand with better opportunities as the UK is no longer beholden to European quotas, tariffs and artificial price inflation through destruction of produce.
– NZ Herald
