Speech by President von der Leyen at the Australian Parliament

“Check against delivery”

Mr Speaker,

Prime Minister,

President of the Senate,

Leader of the Opposition,

Honourable Members and Senators,

Distinguished guests.

My visit to Australia this week constitutes many firsts. I am the first President of the European Commission to visit Australia in more than a decade. I am the first President of the European Commission to address a joint sitting of your parliament. And I am honoured to be the first woman leader invited to address this joint session of your parliament. It is a great privilege. And one that I hope many more women will experience far sooner than my address has taken.

Dear Prime Minister, Anthony.

Thank you for this invitation. Europe is in a dangerous moment. War has raged in Ukraine for four years. And there is little prospect of this ending anytime soon. In the Middle East, a new conflict rages. Countries that built economic models on the very premise of the stability and safety they provide are facing a new reality. The world we live in is brutal, harsh and unforgiving. It feels upside down. What we knew as certainties are in question. The comfort blanket of yesterday is ripped away. It is confronting. But the world we are living in is also a more honest one. We are saying out loud what has changed and how we are changing. Against this backdrop, my visit is not a symbolic trip. What we sign today will unleash a new era of economic and security partnership. Europe is changed. And we are not just open for business We are here to begin a new epoch in our relationship rooted in the spirit of friendship.

Mr Speaker,

It takes longer to cross Australia, than to fly anywhere within Europe. Your “far horizons” – identified so eloquently by the iconic Australian poet Dorothea Mackellar is a reminder that the distance has traditionally been a barrier to our relationship but today geography is no more our destiny. And distance is no longer a protection or a luxury. The world has changed, but we get to choose how to shape our responses. And we do this without losing sight of our culture and our connections. And they run deep - built on the foundations of the post-war surge of migration into Australia. These millions of Europeans carried the same dream, of hope, opportunity, prosperity, and a better life for their next generation. While we not always have maximised this potential, our kinship has always bound us. And our cultures have always understood one another. I am looking forward to drinking my first flat white on Australian soil. And I am also looking forward to sampling a pavlova - or do I have to wait to visit New Zealand to try that delicacy?

Standing here in this majestic chamber - modelled after the British House of Commons but rendered in this eucalypt colour – I am reminded of how young and vibrant your democracy is, while still being linked to our enduring democracy in Europe born in Greece thousands of years ago. But your history is even more ancient. And I acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the world's oldest continuing culture.

Mr Speaker,

Our continent owes so much to Australia. You fought for our safety, for our free Europe. As Defence Minister, I visited your War Memorial, it was a solemn reminder of how much your country gave and the everlasting obligation Europe owes to your men and women who sacrificed their lives for our common freedom. We have a duty to not just preserve their legacy but to fortify it. Today this task has a new urgency. I recently said that Europe could no longer be custodian of the old-world order, this just reflects the reality of our changing environment, but this does not mean giving up who we are or on our values. That matters, whether you are Europe or a regional power like Australia, accepting the world as it is simply means making choices sooner and smarter. Both as governments and as institutions. But I stand here today proud to tell you that Europe is changed, you can see that with how much ambition I have for this relationship.

One of the indulgences of past decades has been to think that our world and our interests can be defined by our neighbourhood. Nowhere proves that more false than Australia. It can take us more than 24 hours to fly here, but so many of the issues that challenge you in Perth are the same as in Paris. Take energy prices. None of us is immune to the shocks, both geopolitical and economic, that the war in Iran brings to our populations. Pain at the pump is hard for our citizens. And just another reminder that building our resilience is today's job. We in Europe have been reckoning with our dependencies, particularly with Russian gas. There were warning signs, and we learnt the lesson in the hardest of ways, in February 2022. For context, imagine, for example, if here in Australia you were forced to stop selling your iron ore overnight? In a way, this is what we have had to do in Europe. Russian gas – a no go overnight. And after our societies had already withstood so much. First, with the financial crisis, then the pandemic, the beginning of the war in Ukraine and now a second energy gas and oil price shock. Diversification was and remains a necessity. 

This is why I am proud that we have made decarbonisation a defining pillar of our free trade agreement. This is hard-headed commonsense. In my six years as President, I have witnessed firsthand how climate change is ravaging our continent. From floods in Valenica to the wildfires in Greece - which Australian firefighters came and helped put out. We all know what we are seeing is more severe. Doreathea Mackellar wrote of Australia's “droughts and flooding rains” affecting your “sunburnt country.” But the point is these climatic events have become more frequent and more intense. And it is our common responsibility to find solutions to power the planet we leave our children. This is why I am so pleased that Australia is considering entering Horizon Europe. Horizon is the world's largest research and innovation program. So joining it will put Australian researchers alongside Europe's to create tomorrow's technologies. Whether in clean tech, quantum or dual use capabilities. Our brightest minds are coming together.

With geopolitics at a boiling point we know firsthand that the more you build homegrown energy, the sooner you get independent and thus can shield yourself from energy price shocks. We are in a race to electrify our economies. This is what future generations will judge us on.

But the war in the Middle East is not just contained to the economic costs. Today's world shows that security threats are no longer restrained by distance but are enabled by technology. Malicious actors are able to reach into our borders without ever leaving their own. Europe, like Australia, does not choose how threats come to us. But we all suffer their fallout. What happens in Ukraine matters in Unley, Australians have always understood this. Which is why you have remained steadfast in support of European security. It should not be lost on anyone that the same surveillance plane that flew over Poland to help protect Ukraine is now in the Gulf helping defend our partners under attack from Iran. Equally, it should not be lost on anyone that Ukraine has rushed to the aid of the Gulf States to help them defend their skies against the same Iranian Shahed drones that have been killing Ukrainians from the sky for years. Their cooperation has deepened. And there is no clearer example than the unimaginable sight of North Koreans - fighting Ukrainians on European soil.

We in Europe have also been battling attempts to undermine our democratic societies. And foreign malign interference is just another example of the converging threats we face. As our adversaries adapt to cooperate together we too must respond together. Because when we stand side-by-side we are stronger. And this is why I am so pleased, you have accepted our offer of a security partnership. This is what we have signed today. Creating a new defence industrial base, so that we are ready, to keep our people safe. Because for us in this Chamber this is our number one duty.

Mr Speaker,

In the same way, Australia understands that Europe's security is integral to its own. Europe knows- the reverse is also true. Stability in the Indo-Pacific is our common goal. This is why when I went to India in January, we also signed a defence and security partnership. With these agreements, we can bring together our expertise to secure our maritime routes, collaborate to counter cyberwarfare, and build new defence technologies together.

Mr Speaker,

Another of the realities that this new world has shown us, is that dependencies can be weaponised. Australia knows this all too well. Europe too has been challenged by its dependencies, not just on Russian energy. But also, for our reliance on imports from a single supplier. We cannot and will not absorb China's export-led growth model, and its industrial overcapacity. Last year, every single EU Member State ran a trade deficit with China. Both the threat to our supply-chain security and the shock to our industrial base need urgent responses. These are responses we can only devise together. For both Europe and Australia, getting China right is a strategic imperative. This is why bringing life to our critical minerals partnership will be crucial to our success. We cannot be overdependent on any supplier for such crucial ingredients. And that is precisely why we need each other. Our security is your security. And with our new security partnership, we have each other's backs.

Mr Speaker,

The Europe I am representing is very different to what you have known. It has been ‘hard yakka' but we finally got there. Today, we finally conclude our trade deal. And we mean it when we say it. This trade deal is good to go. And I am so proud that we got this done. Because it is a fair deal, and one that delivers for your businesses and one that delivers for ours. I think you call that: “hitting it for six.” A trade deal many thought we might never land. But this reflects Europe's changing approach. From Latin America to India, and I am so pleased to add, Australia. When it comes to trade, Europe is open for business. We are rearming. We are decarbonising. We are preparing. We are becoming an independent Europe. And this means a more outward Europe. And this is why I am here today. Because showing up matters.

Mr Speaker,

This is my second visit to Australia. Last time I was enchanted by your Kangaroos and Koalas. And I must admit, I love to see them once again yesterday in Taronga Wildlife Park. Maybe today in the ‘Bush Capital.' But my overriding impression of Australia was its pluckiness. You are a country that likes to give things a go. And we are watching closely your world-leading social media ban. As a mother of seven children, and grandmother of six I feel acutely the responsibility of protecting our children. It is we, parents, who must raise our children and not predatory addictive algorithms. Australia's example is one for us all. Your social media ban was a community-led effort, bipartisan and is up and running. We wish you every success. Several of our EU Member States are looking to follow. And earlier this month I convened for the first time my panel of experts. They are examining how Europe can implement possible restrictions in the Union. When it comes to the safety of our children no one should be surprised that we are so like-minded. And willing to stand up for ourselves and the kind of societies that we want to live in. These things are precious. And if the volatile world shows us anything, it is that they are worth protecting, collectively.

Mr Speaker,

Looking on a map, it can feel like the distance between us is enormous. But I have to say being in your country feels like being among friends, or mates. Let us take this friendship further than ever before. And turbocharge a new age in Australia-Europe relations, showing that democracy has no distance.

Mr Speaker,

Every one of my speeches I finish with ‘Long Live Europe', but today I would like to add Long Live Australia.