EU president to visit Sydney - trade deal in the works?

A press release says that von der Leyen will visit Sydney and Canberra on March 23-25 to "strengthen the EU's ties with a trusted, like-minded partner in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region."

At the same time, between the lines, the trade agreement that the EU and Australia have been negotiating more intensively over the past year is visible.

However, the EU's powerful agricultural lobby is already worried.

"Any possible settlements must be fair and not come at the expense of the EU's agricultural sector and rural areas," writes Lennart Nilsson, chairman of the producer organization Cogeca, in a press release.