Anthony Albanese says he wants to see negotiations on a free-trade agreement with the European Union settled by the end of the year, as he held talks with world leaders on advancing the deal.
The prime minister held formal talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit in India on Saturday, where the pair discussed steps needed to finalise the trade agreement.
Australia has been locked in tense negotiations over an agreement with the EU, with the federal government insisting what was on the table did not offer enough market access for Australian producers.
If a deal is not reached by the end of the year, it’s unlikely an agreement will be signed off in the near future, due to EU elections taking place.
“We won’t sign up to an agreement for the sake of having an agreement,” Mr Albanese told reporters on Saturday night.
“We believe that you can get an agreement because trade is good for both parties, that is in Australia’s national interest, and in the interests of the European Union.”
Talks on the deal had been stalled due to an impasse on geographic indicators for products such as feta and prosecco.
Mr Albanese had held talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen informally before the G20 started.
The prime minister said the talks with the EU had been quite positive.
“We will wait and see… our officials have continued to have discussions, but I would like to see the Australia-EU free-trade agreement settled as soon as possible,” he said.
“It’s quite clear with the timetables that are there that the prospects of that being done are much greater this year than next year.”
The EU was Australia’s second-largest trading partner in 2020, as well as the seventh-largest export destination, fourth-largest services market and second-largest source of foreign investment.
Source: AAP
