Australia says it could follow Canada in forging deeper ties with EU

Australia has indicated it would back Canada’s push for a deeper, formalised relationship with the EU as Ottawa confronts rising trade tensions with the US. Canada is reportedly exploring an “associate member” or “unique alliance” arrangement that stops short of full EU membership but would let Canadian goods, services and workers move freely in priority sectors such as AI, energy, defence and critical minerals. Talks reportedly cover practical integration measures - shared infrastructure like underwater cables, data centres, cloud storage, satellite networks and energy transport - effectively extending the EU’s economic border for certain activities.

Australian trade minister Don Farrell said Canberra is “on the same page” as Canada and will closely follow the initiative, though he did not say Australia is actively pursuing a parallel deal. Farrell signalled openness to a range of arrangements but ruled out fibre-optic cables because of distance. The comments come as Australia seeks to diversify trade after US tariffs despite long-standing security and free-trade ties with Washington; Canberra also concluded a free trade agreement with the EU in March that removed most tariffs and could ease EU access to Australian critical minerals.