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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a new Security and Defence Partnership with the European Union from the G7 sidelines.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced today (18 June) that Australia will soon enter into negotiations to establish a Defence and Security Partnership with the European Union.
“I’m pleased to announce today that we will commence negotiations on a security and defence partnership with the European Union,” Albanese said in a press conference on the sidelines of the G7 Leaders Summit in Canada on 18 June.
“We see this as an important framework for our current and future cooperation in areas like defence industry, cyber- and counter-terrorism. And we will have our respective ministers progress that over the coming weeks. But we hope to conclude those discussions pretty quickly.
"At a time of global uncertainty, it is our collective responsibility to work together to uphold peace, security and economic prosperity."
In the hours before Albanese made the announcement, he had met with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council leader António Costa to discuss the final points of the deal and accept the EU’s partnership offer.
Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong will nut out the details of the partnership with their EU counterparts. The partnership is expected to be non-binding and not include the deployment of ADF forces. The new deal was first proposed in discussions that occurred when Albanese met EU leaders at the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in May.
Ursula von der Leyen said the partnership would usher in a "new chapter" in the relationship between Europe and Australia.
“Recognising the shared security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific, we are launching talks on a Security and Defence Partnership," von der Leyen said.
“We’re also committed to advancing free trade negotiations - because economic security matters too.”
Antonio Costa said "Australia is an important partner for the European Union".
“We share the same values and a strong commitment to multilateralism and the rules-based global order."
The EU has similar defence and security partnerships with the United Kingdom, Japan, and South Korea.
UPDATED 18/06/25 to add further commentary.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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