It will be a “long time” before a free trade agreement (FTA) is available between the EU and Australia according to a former EU diplomat.
Negotiations between representatives of Australia and the EU during a summit of trade ministers of the G7 nations in Osaka, Japan have stalled.
Leading the EU delegation on Sunday, October 29 was EU Agriculture Commissioner, Janusz Wojciechowski and EU Trade Commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis.
Wojciechowski said: “I regret that we could not successfully conclude our negotiations.
“To move forward, we need more realistic expectations and a balanced approach that fully respects the viability of our farmers and the sustainability of our food system.
In preparation for the talks, Commissioner Wojciechowski said he would raise the “needs and concerns of EU food and farming” in order to negotiate an agreement that was “sustainable and mutually-beneficial”.
The Australian representative, Minister for Trade, Don Farrell referred to the two EU delegates before the negotiations began and said “it means I’m not fighting just one minister, I’m fighting two ministers.
“We’re not just dealing with one country, we’re dealing with 27 countries.”
Former EU Director of International Affairs John Clarke said: “This FTA won’t be available again for a long time.
“I understand the EU side traipsed all the way to Japan prepared to do the final deal, just to be told again, forget it,” Clarke added.
The Council of the EU authorised opening negotiations for a trade agreement between the EU and Australia in May 2018.
In preparation for the talks, Farrell had expressed his desire to get the best trade agreement possible for Australia, and said that he “walked away” from an agreement in July as he said he “didn’t think it was good enough for Australia”.
He added that he was “prepared to do the same again”.
Following the breakdown in negotiations, Farrell said “unfortunately we’ve not been able to make progress”.
“Negotiations will continue and I’m hopeful that one day we will sign a deal that benefits both Australia and our European friends,” he added.
EU-Australia trade
The negotiations were already being met with apprehension before they had commenced, as seen from farm organisations from both Australia and Europe.
The president of the Australian farm organisation, the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), Fiona Simson said last week that the country’s government should not sign the impending trade deal “unless major improvements are put on the table for Aussie farmers”.
“We have grave concerns that [Minister Farrell] is headed to Osaka with signing pen at the ready,” Simson said.
“We’re yet to hear any indication that the EU is willing to put a commercially meaningful deal on the table. Everything we’ve seen so far would actually send parts of our sector backwards. We’ve never seen a proposed trade deal like it.”
“The message from Australian farmers is clear an united. If it’s a dud deal, keep the signing pen in your pocket,” Simson said.
Also expressing concern ahead of the talks was the umbrella group for European farmer organisations and European agri-cooperatives, Copa-Cogeca, as the group wrote to the EU trade delegation last week.
The letter from Copa-Cogeca stated: “We expect a balanced outcome for the agriculture sector and not one where our sector is clearly the bargaining chip for getting this agreement across the line.”