EU, Australia Begin Preparations to Launch Trade Talks

The EU and Australia will begin work with a view to launching free trade talks in 2017, leaders from both sides confirmed on Sunday following a meeting in the Turkish city of Antalya on the sidelines of the G-20 leaders’ summit. “We believe that a FTA will support sustainable growth and investment, open up new commercial opportunities, and promote innovation and employment in Australia and the EU,” said Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and European Council President Donald Tusk in a joint statement . Meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 leaders’ summit in the Turkish city of Antalya, the three officials pledged to now begin taking steps “as soon as possible” to define what the scope of such negotiations should be, as well as how to approach them. “We will aim to achieve a comprehensive and balanced outcome that liberalises trade, promotes productive investment flows, and enhances the regulatory environment for business,” they said. The EU is Australia’s third largest trading partner, surpassed only by China and Japan, according to the European Commission . Australia, meanwhile, is the EU’s 21 st largest trading partner in goods. Bilateral goods trade in 2014 hit €38.8 billion,...