The European Commission said Wednesday its president Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Australia next week as negotiators in Brussels and Canberra enter the final stretch of talks on a hard-fought free-trade agreement.
Agriculture has been a key sticking point between the two sides. Talks collapsed in 2023 after Canberra accused Brussels of failing to offer sufficient market access for its meat exports. But mounting global trade tensions revived negotiations last year after the US rolled out sweeping tariffs on partners worldwide.
