EU trade chief eyes investment in Australian resources projects

By Mélanie Burton

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Friday he had discussed with Australian Resources Minister Madeleine King how best to invest in Australian resource projects, through equity investments, long-term off-take agreements or joint investments.

Sefocvic spoke to King on Thursday as part of a trade delegation to Australia, as the two countries seek to strike a free trade deal that could include the supply of key minerals.

“We’ve made the first selection of projects that we would officially declare interest in. I mean, that list should be out very, very soon,” he said.

The EU has learned from how Japan has managed its security of supply of critical minerals, investing strategically in mines and processing plants, he said.

“And we want to move in that direction as well.”‌

“We in Europe have paid very dearly for our dependencies in recent years. It started with Russian oil and gas. We know how much we overpaid when we had to diversify very quickly. We see how squeezed we are now on chips and some critical raw materials.”

In terms of the Australia-EU deal, there was “more momentum”, Sefcovic told reporters in Melbourne, adding that he expected a new round of negotiations early next year.

A previous attempt to reach a trade deal failed in 2023 as Canberra wanted more capacity to sell agricultural products to Europe. The EU is seeking greater access to Australia’s essential minerals and lower tariffs on manufactured goods.

(Reporting by ‌Melanie Burton in Melbourne and Renju Jose in Sydney; editing ‌by Sonali Paul and Kevin Buckland)