European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Australia on March 23-25 to meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, with both sides indicating the long-negotiated Australia-EU free trade agreement is in its "final stretch" and likely to be finalized during the visit, the Australian Financial Review reported on March 18. The deal, which initially collapsed in October 2023 over disputes including agricultural access, has returned to the leader level to resolve outstanding issues.

The same disputes that derailed Australia-EU FTA talks in 2023 remain largely unresolved, but intensifying global trade tensions, especially renewed U.S. tariff escalation, are heightening the cost of continued delay. This is pushing both sides to accept narrower, politically manageable compromises to secure broader strategic gains around supply chain resilience and market diversification.