EU and Australia strengthen relations with Security and Defence Partnership and Trade Agreement
The EU and Australia have announced the adoption of a groundbreaking Security and Defence Partnership. They have also concluded negotiations for an ambitious and balanced free trade agreement (FTA) and agreed to launch formal negotiations for the association of Australia to Horizon Europe, the world’s largest funding programme for research and innovation. With these steps, the EU and Australia are delivering mutually beneficial outcomes and further reinforcing their already close relations in a time of geopolitical uncertainty.
The FTA final text was agreed during a leaders’ meeting in Canberra between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese. The Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) was signed virtually by High Representative/Vice President Kaja Kallas and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Richard Donald Marles, and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong on 18 March 2026.
President von der Leyen and Prime Minister Albanese published a joint statement.
More information is available online in the press release and the questions and answers.
You can follow the press conference by President von der Leyen with Prime Minister Albanese live now on EBS. You can also follow President von der Leyen‘s speech at the Australian parliament at 2:00 CET on EBS.
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