European Commission president arrives in Australia for talks on free trade deal

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday arrived in Australia for talks on a free trade deal worth tens of billions of dollars.

She was welcomed to Australia by Governor-General Sam Mostyn.

"I'm here to celebrate the long-standing friendship between Europe and Australia," she said on the US social media company X.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic is also in Australia.

According to the local news website news.com.au, both sides were satisfied with the outcome of earlier talks between Sefcovic and Trade Minister Don Farrell.

There is "really not much left to do," a European source close to the negotiations told the media outlet, adding that the technical and ministerial-level talks led by Sefcovic and Farrell had progressed as much as possible, leaving the final decision and "sign-off" to the respective political leaders.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host von der Leyen at Parliament House on Tuesday.

The visit is a "milestone moment for the relationship between Australia and the European Union," Albanese said in parliament.

"Our two-way trade is worth some $109 billion. That represents jobs and economic prosperity, and our government has been working patiently and constructively to take that to the next level," he said.

To give Australian farmers, growers, and exporters better access to a market of 450 million customers, he said.

The EU is expected to introduce a 30,000-ton market access quota for Australian red meat, scrap tariffs on Australian critical minerals, and drop demands for Australian producers to stop using geographical indicators.

The free-trade agreement has been under discussion since 2018 and was close to completion in 2023. However, it was stalled over market access for Australian beef and geographical indicators.