Patten has nothing but praise for Clark

By FRAN O'SULLIVAN assistant editor

Helen Clark may not be on George Bush's calling card - but Europe's top ambassador has nothing but praise for her stance on Iraq.

European Union Commissioner Chris Patten had a private meeting with the Prime Minister just before she flew to Brussels on Monday night.

Mr Patten would not be drawn into commenting directly on Helen Clark's apology to US President George W. Bush over her inflammatory comments on Iraq.

"What I would say is I think in Europe we recognise that you have a Prime Minister with an admirably distinctive view of the world who is going to be listened to in Europe because she is intelligent and forceful and tells it on the whole as she sees it."

Mr Patten is visiting to allay fears that New Zealand will be shut out of an expanded European market.

He believes the forthcoming enlargement, in which 10 East European nations will join the 15-strong European Union, will be good for trading partners such as New Zealand because it will add another 70 million consumers to the mix.

"I think it will have a positive impact," said Mr Patten. "Every previous enlargement has seen relatively poor countries increasing their economic growth pretty rapidly.

"So New Zealand will be selling into a larger market with common trade rules, with common regulations and standards. It will be good for New Zealand's exporters."

European expansion will dominate much of the official agenda for Mr Patten's four-day visit. He wants to "thicken up" the EU's relationship with New Zealand in areas such as education, science and technology and development co-operation.

Under discussion are proposals to allow more post-graduate New Zealand students to study at European universities and the funding of co-operative research ventures.

"We don't frankly think we are yet doing enough with New Zealand and we hope we can find ways in which we can remedy that."

But New Zealand will also have to raise its profile. Mr Patten noted pointedly that NZ has no diplomatic representation in any of the 10 nations poised to join the EU. "I think it will be very helpful if New Zealand were to be represented in the new candidates."

The diplomat extraordinaire, who ruptured his Achilles tendon playing tennis just before he was due to fly to Australia and New Zealand, is "not supposed to be here at all".

Mr Patten is wheelchair-bound for six weeks and his doctors did not want him to fly so soon: "I was operated on with a general anaesthetic on Sunday morning and flew out of Heathrow on the Monday night.

"I shoot myself up with stuff to stop my blood coagulating."

Iraq will dominate discussions that Mr Patten will have with Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff today.

Herald Feature: Iraq war