Bernd Lange, the German chair of the European parliament’s committee on international trade, said the EU was keen to seal the deal before the parliament’s term ended.“Australia has now good climate targets, the new legislation passed [about] a week ago is quite similar to the European Union, and now it’s really important to agree on some concrete projects,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.The minister noted Australia’s critical minerals were in huge demand around the world.“We want to make sure that the Europeans share in those critical minerals, but there’s got to be something for Australia in that process,” he said.Lange said Europe wanted to depend on reliable partners such as Australia for access to the minerals needed for energy and digital industries. Late last week, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the union could not rely on some of the countries that currently controlled supply.China is the world’s biggest lithium processor.Farrell said ultimately, a trade deal with the EU, which has a GDP of about $23 trillion and a population of 450 million, would be important for Australia.
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