Last week, the Presidents of the European Council and European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, met with New Zealand´s Prime Minister John Key in Brussels. Topics of discussions included migration, Syria, climate talks in Paris later this year and trade. In a final joint declaration, President Juncker and Prime Minister Key announced that the EU and New Zealand are launching negotiations that will lead to a deep, comprehensive and high-quality free trade agreement. Technical talks on the overall scope of the future deal will start as soon as possible. The EU is New Zealand´s third largest trading partner (after Australia and China). New Zealand ranks 51 on the list of EU´s trade partners. The bilateral trade amounted to €7.9 billion in 2014, according to the EC, with New Zealand exporting mainly farming products and importing diverse goods. New Zealand recently signed the big Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, negotiated by the US with 11 Pacific Rim states.

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