European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to visit Australia in February to conclude agreements on security and trade.
According to Report, this was reported by the European publication Politico, citing sources.
According to the sources, the deal with Canberra will give the EU greater access to the Australian market for strategic minerals such as lithium and copper. Previous trade negotiations broke down at the end of 2023 due to disagreements over quotas for beef and lamb. It is noted that Brussels has taken steps to resume them, but the quotas are still under discussion.
According to the publication, a possible agreement with Australia could provoke a barrage of criticism due to its significant agricultural component, as was the case with the conclusion of a free trade agreement with the countries of the South American Common Market (MERCOSUR).
It should be recalled that on 25 October last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new initiative to reduce the EU’s dependence on supplies of critical raw materials from China, stating that Brussels intends to compensate for the gap in these supplies by strengthening contacts with Australia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Chile.
https://report.az/ru/drugie-strany/glava-ek-posetit-avstraliyu-dlya-zaklyucheniya-torgovoj-sdelki
