After eight years of negotiations, the EU-Australia agreement was signed in Canberra at night. In less than two months, the Commission concluded its 3rd agreement after Mercosur and India. The world is organizing without Donald Trump.
Australia joins the cohort of over 80 countries that have concluded a free trade agreement with the European Union. The negotiations, which began in July 2018, were at their 15th round in 2023 without any visible political obstacles. A year and a half ago, Ursula von der Leyen and Anthony Albanese reconnected. “We decided together that it couldn’t fail,” recounted Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Canberra on the night of Monday, March 23, to Tuesday, March 24.
The agreement includes a Security and Defense Partnership. Negotiations have simultaneously begun to offer Australia an association with the Horizon Europe research program. With Australia, Ursula von der Leyen completes her “commercial trilogy” – after Mercosur (which enters into provisional application on May 1) and India. Three agreements, three continents, in a few weeks.
Naturally, this acceleration in trade is largely due to the trade war triggered by Donald Trump on the rest of the world. “What I have observed with the rise of global unpredictability is that countries aspire to stability and predictability. This is what the European Union offers,” dodged von der Leyen in response to a direct question from an Australian journalist about Donald Trump. “We believe in free and fair trade,” asserted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (of Italian origin) from his side. “At a time when this is under pressure in the world, this agreement sends a message: it is possible to respect the rules and come out as a winner.”
The European Union has added nearly two billion people to its network of 76 commercial agreements in less than two months. In summary, Brussels’ response to Washington’s tariffs does not involve confrontation; it involves the multiplication of alternatives.
Context: The EU and Australia signed a free trade agreement after eight years of negotiations, adding to Brussels’ network of commercial agreements.
Fact Check: The agreement includes a Security and Defense Partnership and negotiations for Australia to join the Horizon Europe research program.
