By Latika Bourke
Brussels: The European Union’s most senior diplomat is confident Australia and Europe will end their impasse and strike a trade deal that will allow each to diversify their economies and reduce dependence on China.
Stefano Sannino, secretary-general of the European External Action Service, the EU’s foreign office, will deliver on Thursday the ANU’s Schuman lecture on the like-mindedness of the world’s largest trading bloc and Australia.
Stefano Sannino, secretary-general of the European External Action Service of the European Union.
He will also hold talks with South Korean, Japanese, New Zealand and Australian counterparts while visiting the region.
In an exclusive interview, he said the EU and Australia were becoming even closer as they tried to respond to the challenges posed by the changed geopolitical landscape, laid bare by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This is a situation that is showing us in a very graphic way how much a number of countries have become disrespectful of the rules that we have given to ourselves, [countries] that are trying to push things through force … or the use of a number of other instruments,” he said, speaking at the External Action Service’s headquarters in Brussels
“It’s not only force: it’s disinformation, it is cyber, it is hybrid, it’s the weaponisation of policies, it’s economic coercion and so on.”
Australia and tiny EU member state Lithuania have been subjected to economic coercion from the Chinese government in retribution for policies related to China.
But despite the new urgency in the EU and Australia to find new markets to reduce dependency on China, they have failed to broker a trade deal.
Make-or-break talks held a fortnight ago in Brussels failed to resolve the deadlock and a new round of negotiations is set for August.
Sannino said he was confident of reaching a solution.
“The trade negotiations have a logic of their own … I don’t think that we will fail,” he said, adding that comments by President Ursula von der Leyen showed the political will at the highest levels of the EU to make a deal.
“She was saying the door is open, we are like-minded partners, we need each other, especially in this moment. There is still a little bit of work that needs to be done, but I believe that we will eventually get there,” Sannino said.
Taiwan ‘is Europe’s business’
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked soul-searching across Europe about the level of European defence spending and dependency on Russia for energy and on China for critical goods such as rare earth metals and semiconductors.
This led to a new policy of “de-risking” in managing relations with China, a policy that has been adopted by the US and Europe’s largest and most trade-exposed economy to China – Germany.
Sannino said the war had also triggered a substantial change in the EU’s foreign policy, and security was now the central consideration.
“Not only the military security but also the economic security, the security of information, the security of our infrastructure,” he said.
Asked about parallels he saw between the war in Ukraine and the threat posed by China’s increasing aggression in the Indo-Pacific, Sannino said: “We are now in a situation where the political insecurity aspects have become global.
“There is no difference between what is happening in Russia and the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the threat and the challenges that you have in the Pacific.
“What is happening in North Korea or what is happening in the South China Sea or what is happening in the Taiwan Strait for us is as relevant as what is happening between Russia and Ukraine.”
He said Russia’s use of force, in violation of the rules-based order, had provoked a strong reaction in the Pacific.
“The same would be our reaction if something would happen on the Pacific side,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron sparked outrage when he appeared to undermine trans-Atlantic security by saying that the worst thing Europe could do would be to follow the US on Taiwan – the democratic island Chinese President Xi Jinping has threatened to take control of, using force if necessary.
Sannino said Macron’s words had been “over-interpreted” and Europe understood the danger it faced if there was confrontation in the Taiwan Strait.
“We are all aware that in this moment the challenges and the threats we have to face around the world are something that is touching everybody, and it’s very difficult to say that’s not my business,” he said.
He said Europe stood by the One China policy but also backed the Taiwanese continuing to enjoy their rights, warning: “We cannot accept changes that are generated through force.
“We need to work with all the countries of the region to keep on passing constantly and consistently this message to the Chinese authority.”
A growing China ‘good for us all’
Sannino stressed that the policy of “de-risking” was not aimed at curbing China’s economic growth.
“We do not have any interest in having their economic activities depressed in the world,” he said. “If tomorrow China is not growing enough, it’s a problem for China, it’s a problem for us, and we do not want this to happen.”
The EU is preparing ways to restrict the export of sensitive technologies and ban investments in overseas interests that could be used militarily.
Sannino said it was up to business, member states and the EU to see de-risking through.
“Governments can give some signals to their economic sector, and the economic sector has the right to choose whether they want to continue,” he said.
“But then they have to be aware that if they are having serious consequences for what they do, they cannot turn to the government saying and now you have to help us.”
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