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Friday, 17 September 2021 (YJC)_ France's European Affairs Minister said Paris can no longer trust Australia in ongoing negotiations on a trade deal.
Australia previously dropped a $90-billion agreement with the French firm Naval Group under which the latter was supposed to build several attack-class submarines for the country. Paris has already slammed the move, prompted by the US promise to Canberra for nuclear-powered submarines, calling it a "stab in the back".
Paris can no longer trust Australia in ongoing negotiations on a trade deal between Canberra and the EU now that the former has decided to suddenly terminate the contract for buying French submarines, France's European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune has stated.
"We're having trade negotiations with Australia. I don't see how we can trust our Australian partners".
Australia has been in talks to sign an agreement with the European Union, its biggest trading partner, since 2018 having gone through 11 rounds of talks. The next one is due to take place this autumn and is supposed to cover issues of trade, services, investment, and intellectual property rights.
France condemned Australia's move to abandon the 2016 sub deal, calling it a "stab in the back". Paris also reportedly called off a gala event that was supposed to be held by the French Embassy in Washington and signify strong ties between the two NATO partners.
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