EU Commission VP Schinas in Australia to promote cooperation on security, skills, innovation and culture

Brussels, 27 November 2023

Tomorrow, the Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, starts a visit to Australia. The visit aims to strengthen EU-Australia cooperation from a people-centric perspective, notably in the areas of security, skills, innovation and culture.

On Tuesday, Vice-President Schinas will be in Melbourne to deliver an address at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and visit the Hellenic Museum and the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, where he will have a chance to meet with Holocaust survivors and members of the Jewish community.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Vice-President Schinas will be in Canberra for a series of engagements with members of the Australian government and institutional representatives focusing on skills development, migration and security cooperation, including on cybersecurity and addressing foreign information manipulation and interference. The Vice-President will also meet with President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as with members of the joint parliamentary committees on intelligence and security, human rights, foreign affairs, defence and trade.

On Friday, Vice-President Schinas will be in Sydney where he will visit the Sydney Biomedical Accelerator and hold a round-table discussion with the members of the European-Australian Business Council, with a focus on recent Commission initiatives for enhancing skills and talent mobility. The Vice-President will conclude his visit on Saturday, meeting with the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and attending a cultural ‘Europe in Australia’ diplomacy event organised by the EU in honour of Maria Callas at the Sydney Opera House, celebrating 100 years of artistry and innovation.