Global tensions are at “boiling point”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has told Australia’s parliament, pointing to wars raging on multiple continents.
Ms von der Leyen landed in Canberra on Tuesday to finalise terms of a long-awaited free-trade agreement worth billions to both Australia and Europe.
While both sides have highlighted the dollar value of the deal, they have also stressed the importance of working together in an increasingly chaotic world.
It was against that backdrop that Ms von der Leyen told parliamentarians the “world we live in is brutal, harsh and unforgiving”.
“It feels upside down. What we knew as certainties are in question. The comfort blanket of yesterday is ripped away. It is confronting,” she said.
“But the world we are living in is also a more honest one. We are saying out loud what has changed and how we are changing.”
In that light, she said her visit was “not a symbolic trip”.
“What we sign today will unleash a new era of economic and security partnership,” Ms von der Leyen said.
“Europe is changed. And we are not just open for business, we are here to begin a new epoch in our relationship rooted in the spirit of friendship.”
She went on to say Europe and Australia do not “how threats come to us” but that “we all suffer their fallout”.
“What happens in Ukraine matters in Unley, Australians have always understood this,” she said.
“Which is why you have remained steadfast in support of European security.
“It should not be lost on anyone that the same surveillance plane that flew over Poland to help protect Ukraine is now in the Gulf helping defend our partners under attack from Iran.
“Equally, it should not be lost on anyone that Ukraine has rushed to the aid of the Gulf States to help them defend their skies against the same Iranian Shahed drones that have been killing Ukrainians from the sky for years.
“Their cooperation has deepened. And there is no clearer example than the unimaginable sight of North Koreans – fighting Ukrainians on European soil.”
More to come
https://thewest.com.au/news/eu-chief-spruiks-australia-co-operation-as-global-tensions-at-boiling-point-c-22039104
