Fyi, the European Union also represents Australia's 3rd largest trading partner, after China and Japan and before the US
"As of January 2022, France will take on the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The timing could not be worse for Australia as it tries to negotiate a major trade deal with the EU. Negotiations have already been paused for a month as a result of the failed submarine deal. The economic implications are serious for Australia, which has a lot more at stake than Europe here." - Source
One could normally assume that the strengthening of relationships with our largest trade partners would not be an unreasonable consideration during a post-pandemic recovery after the collapse of the global economy, but according to PM Scotty, apparently not!
