15/06/2018 (Agence Europe) – Ahead of the launch of the EU-Australia free trade talks on Tuesday 19 June, the European Services Forum (ESF) and the Australian Services Roundtable (ASR) call for an agreement that strengthens bilateral trade in services. This trade is already significant – with €22.2 billion in exports for the EU, and AUS$9.8 billion for Australia in 2016, this is the top sector ahead of agriculture. Services also dominate affiliate business activity in the respective markets. There are twice as many EU affiliates in the services sector in Australia as in the mining or manufacturing sector. The foreign direct investment brought by Australian affiliates in the EU is similarly focused in services industries. Tourism is particularly important (roughly 1.5 million travellers each way in 2016) – as are education and transport services, financial services, computer services, professional and technical services. The ESF and ASR call for strong discipline in cross border data flows, and increased regulatory cooperation across service sectors. (EH)