France is threatening to curtail discussions on a planned free trade agreement between Europe and Australia after the latter’s government severed a massive deal to buy French submarines.
France’s government went on full offense last week after Australia abandoned the $90 billion AUD ($65 billion USD) deal last week in favor of a new military agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom.
“Keeping one’s word is the condition of trust between democracies and between allies,” France’s European affairs secretary Clement Beaune told Politico. “So it is unthinkable to move forward on trade negotiations as if nothing had happened with a country in which we no longer trust,” Beaune added.
France has a track record of being successful in thwarting EU trade agendas via outspoken hostility. The European Commission could theoretically conduct trade talks on behalf of the 27 member countries, though it would be diplomatically untenable for Brussels to move forward in the midst of French disapproval.
FRANCE RECALLS AMBASSADOR FROM WASHINGTON ‘WITHOUT DELAY’ AS MACRON RAGES AT BIDEN
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to speak with President Joe Biden in the coming days, marking the first contact since the major diplomatic dispute erupted last week. The call is reportedly at the request of Biden, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said.
“At the end of the last round with Australia, which took place in June, it was agreed that the next round would take place in October. This is the current state of play,” said Eric Mamer, chief spokesman for the European Commission. “We are analyzing the impact that the AUKUS announcement would have on this schedule.”
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In response to the United States‘s decision to strike a nuclear submarine agreement with Australia, Macron recalled his country’s ambassador to the U.S. in response.
