In a first step that could eventually enable both NATO allies to participate in the EU’s €150 billion program to increase military production, the EU and Australia announced on Wednesday that they will begin negotiations for a defence and security pact. The bloc is anticipated to reach a similar agreement with Canada next week.
Following a meeting on the margins of a G7 conference in Canada, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a joint statement saying, “I very much welcome the EU’s offer for a Security and Defence Partnership and Australia will warmly take it up and commence work immediately.”
“This will allow the door to joint military procurement opportunities and will help both our industries and our security,” he stated. In the same statement, von der Leyen stated that “trusted partners must stand together in a time of rising tensions and strategic competition.” “Europe and Australia’s enduring friendship enters a new chapter today.
A free trade agreement is also being negotiated between the EU and Australia, but the SPD negotiations will continue to be conducted independently. The EU-Canada summit between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council president Antonio Costa is scheduled for Monday in Brussels. One likely outcome is a Security and Defence Pact (SPD), similar to the one the EU signed with the UK last month.
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