The European Commission announced on Friday 1 October that it was postponing by 1 month the 12th round of negotiations on the trade agreement with Australia. According to the Commission’s trade spokeswoman, Miriam García Ferrer, the decision was taken in recent days.
According to her, this choice was made because there are still open issues. “With this postponement, we will have more time to better prepare the negotiation”, she said.
Market access, rules of origin, intellectual property, geographical indications, public procurement, and sustainable development still need some work.
By June 2021, after the 11th round of negotiations, the Commission had reported progress in the discussions, including several chapters provisionally closed or about to be closed (see EUROPE 12745/6).
The postponement comes 2 weeks after France expressed doubts about the possibility of continuing negotiations with Australia, following the setback associated with the AUKUS alliance (see EUROPE 12795/4).
The European Commission, for its part, stated on 20 September that it was “analysing the impact that this Australian announcement could have on the negotiation schedule” (see EUROPE 12794/9). (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)