That’s feta! Europe signs up on trade deal while pushing for security

European Commission President Ursula von der Layen appeared more interested in security and alliances than the lucrative trade deal awarded to Australia when she addressed Parliament this week. Doctor Lee DuffieldABC’s former Europe Correspondent in Brussels, the “EU capital”, interprets the visit as Europe being in some conflicts and asking for help from its allies and friends.

“Trust is more important than transactions”, in question President von der Layen inside an address It will be presented to the Australian Parliament on Tuesday, March 24. In her speech, Dr von der Leyen condemned the corruption in international relations. “Major powers use tariffs as leverage and supply chains as weak points.”. He said Australia and the EU would be more resilient in combating them by staying connected to each other.precision …what do people around the world miss?”.

The President of Europe said that Europe, which is dependent on Russian resources, has been hit hard by the Ukrainian War, which is now at its borders; Moreover “excessive industrialization“China, where all EU states now have a trade deficit with this country and where the harsh effects of the Iran War were seen this year, was adopting a strategy of internal economic development and re-establishment of alliances, such as the new agreements made with Australia.

The picture thus shows the third largest world economy as the main standard bearer of democratic rights and the rule of law in a world increasingly dominated by geopolitical marauders, determined to defend well and assert their own strengths. He made a reminder: “Distance is no longer a protection” Australia was close to all the problem centers.

Priority deals: Allies with money

Dr von der Layen’s authority may be lost on Australians; the ABC variety, for example, which launches parliamentary coverage and says it takes “management” of the 27-member bloc.

In reality, the European Commission is the executive body and itself is the head of the executive. They propose and implement policies. They get this approved by two bodies; The European Council consists of national ministers of member states and the directly elected European Parliament, which has strong powers such as approving the appointment of the EU’s top executives.

Therefore, the signature of the Commission President is a definitive confirmation that the prioritized agreements will be implemented and will produce beneficial results.

These:

• An agreement focused on “stability, security and sovereignty” in defense cooperation, counter-terrorism and cyber security.
• Australia participates Horizon EU Fund for research and innovation, for work on advanced computing, climate, clean energy, critical minerals and health.
• Australia –EU Free Trade AgreementThe construction took eight years and was successfully completed by the Minister of Commerce. Don Farrell and their EU counterparts.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Parliament that the deal would add $10 billion a year to the Australian economy and move Europe from Australia’s third largest trading partner to second after China, displacing Japan and the United States. EU modeling It predicts an increase in Australia’s GDP of up to $7.8 billion by 2030.

Gains from reducing tariffs that inhibit trade-ins and add costs to consumers will be reciprocal. Under agreement, Australia will remove the 5 per cent tariff on products such as European cars, fashion clothes, food and drinks, making them cheaper. Europe will allow entry of many Australian products, including critical minerals (a point heavily emphasized by the EC President), manufactured goods and certain agricultural products, especially dairy products

Champagne and feta: What’s in a name?

One of the sticking points of the negotiations was the regional designation and demand for European products such as parmesan, feta, champagne or prosecco. Various wine names, like Champagne itself, had long ago been accepted by both parties, and Europe abandoned the colonization of names associated with Australian varieties or regions, such as Rutherglen or McLaren Vale Shiraz, which were admittedly much less valuable on open markets. There are concessions in the agreement, but it is very loose; It is a far cry from the rigid rejection Europe had previously adopted towards Australia.

It would be appropriate for many of the aforementioned products to be made in Australia, including parmesan and kransky.

Australian prosecco will now be allowed, though not for Australian export; This is the only concession Europe has ever made regarding this name.

Feta produced in Australia can be called feta, although it is “grandfathered”, limiting it to current producers. As a result, it is expected that he will eventually go away. (Feta cheese produced in Denmark, a member of the EU, is the only non-Greek white cheese recognized by Brussels and approved for production and export.)

Trade Minister Don Farrell he told ABC that post-war European immigrants triumphed over naming rights; He said he used the argument that millions of people brought their own food culture to Australia and made their own unique products in their new homes.

Opposition says it’s about meat

Another sticking point was Australia’s red meat exports; Here we saw things reminiscent of the days of “buffalo diplomacy”, when Australian representatives banged their heads on the customs walls around “Fortress Europe”, and Australian representatives banged their heads on the customs walls around “Fortress Europe”.

I remember from Australian trade officials at the last briefing on beef 15 years ago that even then they said they weren’t that worried about Europe anymore because they had expanding markets elsewhere. There has been little change in this outlook, with the Minister stating that the value of beef exports has tripled to $18 billion a year since the current Government took office. But beef remained under the quota system, although it was brought back to 35,000 tonnes annualIn recent years, this figure has been reduced to 4,000 tons. Similarly, lamb meat also increased significantly, from 6,000 tonnes to 25,000 tonnes.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and right-wing industry group the National Farmers Federation shouted that this was not enough and set out to tell the full story about beef.

Conservative media outlets naturally got involved, and many other journalists got caught up in the feeding frenzy. For example, ABC 7.30 presenter Sarah Ferguson, Taking tonnages as the story, Farrell attempted a hostile attack against Farrell. insist on explaining. He pointed out that the large gains made due to the “terms” of trade and the agreements he made on the processing of the product would lead to real sales. When the interviewer was given a figure of 50,000 tonnes allocated to Canadians, he said the neglect of “conditions” meant they didn’t sell a single kilo.

The right wing has problems with the idea of ​​Europe

Taylor’s intervention, apart from a few inaccuracies regarding the regional naming issue, had two problems generally associated with Australian conservatives over the years.

The first problem was not fully understanding what the European Union is, how important it is and how it works. The second related problem is that they are married to England, where British relations are seen as sufficient or as a good model in relations with Europe. Conditions for coalition mediation 2021 Australia – UK Free Trade AgreementTaylor said they were much more generous to Australia.

As a background, the British economy is different from Europe. It is more integrated with Australia in terms of permanent trade and especially financial relations. In agricultural production, the United Kingdom was an ally of Australia throughout its campaigns against the protection of European agricultural products through subsidies and tariffs. Common Agricultural Policy. UK farming has become more independent and viable, without requiring subsidies. For perspective, the UK has a population of 70 million and a GDP equivalent to $4.25 trillion; The EU’s population is 450 million and its GDP is 19 trillion dollars. Is it that meaningful to compare them directly?

Too much beef when it comes to beef?

So in the current case, the Opposition is describing the deal as the “worst trade deal ever” because of fights over beef. The Grazier lobby wanted Farrell to get 50,000 tonnes, and they said 35,000 tonnes meant the whole arrangement was no good, covering many sectors of great interest to consumers and businesses. More importantly, it is stated by this lobby that the EU wants to see sustainability in all its relations; Environmental policies regulating deforestation and addressing climate change are anathema to environmental barriers. This was also behind Angus Taylor’s contribution to the welcome speech to von der Layen, in which he won two shillings each way: he supported free trade agreements, but Australia “It should not be taken away from its sovereignty”.

Another Opposition activity of the day was campaigning in Parliament to fuel concerns about fuel supplies; In a crisis, there should be no collaboration or cooperation with the government that would discourage panic buying or find prudent options to maintain supply. So is it certain that politics this year will be marked by staunch opposition to blaming and abusing the government rather than alternative policies?

A general response by the Australian Opposition to the serious and important issue brought to Canberra by the President of the European Commission would have been greatly in the general public interest. Taylor has aligned himself with Europe on issues such as creating a group to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and joined those condemning Russia’s ongoing occupation of Ukraine.

As for Europe, Australia’s conservative resistance to the European project has been so long-standing and consistent that it might make you wonder if it’s the wrong idea. The pro-British impulse nurtured by the descendants of British immigrants relives old conflicts with France or Germany that are forgotten even in England today. This is a situation that has had a negative impact on relationships for a long time.

In addition to Dr Lee Duffield’s extensive journalistic experience, he served as the ABC’s European correspondent. He is also a respected academic and member of the editorial advisory board of Pacific Journalism Review and an elected member of the University of Queensland Senate.

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