Statement by President von der Leyen at the start of her meeting with Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia

European Commission - Statement Statement by President von der Leyen at the start of her meeting with Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia Rome, 18 May 2025 Congratulations on your electoral win! We meet here in Rome to celebrate a new era in the Vatican. So you could say we also are looking forward to a new era between Europe and Australia. Last time when we met, I think it was in G20 in Brazil. Since then, the geopolitical tensions have massively increased. The good thing is, Australia and Europe are reliable partners. We are predictable. We share the same values. So, we can offer to each other stability and we are very grateful for that. And this is the reason also that we do not only see you as a trading partner, but we see you as a strategic partner. And we would very much like to broaden this strategic partnership. For example, we have signed security and defence agreements with South Korea and with Japan, soon with the UK. We would be very pleased if we could develop such a security and defence partnership too. So, thank you very much for making the time here. And again, congratulations to the second term. Press contacts: Paula PINHO (+32 2 29 20815) Arianna PODESTA (+32 2 298 70 24) Stefan DE KEERSMAECKER (+32 2 29 84680) STATEMENT/25/1259 General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email