The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, warned that Australia can no longer rely on distance for protection from war.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Von der Leyen and Prime Minister\u00a0Anthony Albanese signed a landmark $10bn free trade deal in Canberra on Tuesday after eight years of negotiations (BBC<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n In her address to parliament,\u00a0she said Australia’s distance could no longer protect it, and that \u201ccountries that built economic models on the very premise of the stability and safety they provide are facing a new reality\u201d (The Guardian<\/a>).<\/p>\n The EU Commission president,\u00a0who is the first foreign female leader to address a joint sitting of the Australian parliament, urged democracies to stick together in a “brutal, harsh and unforgiving” world (ABC<\/a>).<\/p>\n She said the \u201csituation is critical\u201d,\u00a0and that the war must end to stop the growing global economic crisis and disruption of oil supplies shipped through the Strait of Hormuz (The Guardian<\/a>).<\/p>\n