EU’s Simson says FTA with Australia would help minerals push
A free-trade agreement between Australia and the European Union would encourage closer ties on critical minerals at a crucial time for the energy transition, Europe’s Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said during a visit to Australia.
Talks between the two sides on a trade pact collapsed last year with Canberra unhappy over access to EU markets for its farm goods. They are also seeking cooperation on critical materials — like lithium, copper and nickel — as Western nations push back against Chinese dominance of supply chains.
Simson said an FTA agreement would be a “strong enabler” for joint work on supply of key raw materials, adding to pressure on Australia for a return to negotiations.
“Just as the EU is keen to secure supply chains through investments in critical minerals mining and prospecting, the Australian industry is calling out for more investment,” Simson told an audience at the National Press Club in Canberra on Monday. “But as long as our trade continues to be discriminated against, the opposite will happen.”
Australia is the biggest global lithium producer, but barely sends any energy-transition metals to Europe. In Australia’s last fiscal year ended June 2023, the nation sent 98% of its lithium spodumene to China, according to government figures.
Simson said she had been in conversations with Australia’s Resources Minister Madeleine King for an agreement on critical minerals, and that there would be more news “soon.”
But she added that the EU wanted to resume discussions on a free trade agreement as well. “I’ve been consistently telling my Australian counterparts that we want to re-engage, get back to the negotiating table,” she said.
Australia has maintained any negotiations for a free trade pact are unlikely to resume until after the European Union elections in 2024.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation