Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides called on the European Union to pursue new trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Australia following a recent agreement reached with India.
Call for new EU trade agreements
Christodoulides said the approach taken with India should also be applied to the UAE and Australia. The EU and India reached an agreement for a trade deal to be signed last month.
EU-Australia negotiations
The EU and Australia have been negotiating a free trade agreement since 2018, with at least 15 rounds of talks having taken place. The Australian government said it is seeking an ambitious and comprehensive free trade association with the EU to drive exports, economic growth and job creation.
Australia has also described such an agreement as important economically and strategically for both sides, adding it would build on a natural partnership based on shared commitments to the rule of law, global norms and free and open markets. It said a strong EU is vital to Australian interests in protecting and promoting a rules-based international order.
EU-UAE talks and scope
Negotiations between the EU and the UAE began in May last year. The European Commission said the talks will focus on reducing tariffs on goods and facilitating services, digital trade, and investment flows.
Mercosur ratification delay
Christodoulides and the European Commission are seeking progress on the India deal and potential future agreements with Australia and the UAE, amid slower progress toward ratification of the EU’s recent deal with South American trade bloc Mercosur.
Last month, the European Parliament voted 334 to 324 to send the EU-Mercosur trade deal to the European Court of Justice, warning it may be incompatible with existing EU law and that negotiation guidelines issued by the Council of the EU may not have been respected by the commission.
As a result, the European Parliament’s ratification vote, previously expected in the spring, will not take place until after the ECJ delivers its ruling on the deal’s legality.
Which of the EU’s ongoing or proposed trade agreements do you think will face the biggest hurdles to ratification?