MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The European Union and Australia on Tuesday agreed on the final text of a free trade agreement, some two years after negotiations broke down over Australian demands for more red meat market access and complaints about Australian products labeled with traditionally European names such as prosecco.
The breakthrough comes as both the EU and Australia seek to diversify their trading networks and reduce their economic reliance on China and exposure to uncertain U.S. tariffs.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed the agreement at the Australian Parliament House after protracted negotiations that began in 2018. The leaders said the pact demonstrated that both sides benefitted from rules-based trade.
“Today we are telling an important story to a world that is deeply changing. A world where great powers are using tariffs as a leverage and supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited," von der Leyen told reporters.
"In our story, open rules based trade delivers positive some outcomes. Trust matters more than transactions,” she added.
Albanese said the context in which the agreement was reached was an important factor in allowing negotiations that collapsed in October 2023 to restart.
“This is both the European Union and Australia asserting that we believe in free and fair trade, that we understand that trade advances the prosperity of both trading entities who are involved, that it is in our interest to get this done,” Albanese said.
The leaders also announced a new defense partnership that will bring closer military cooperation and the start of negotiations toward Australia becoming an associate of the research and innovation funding program Horizon Europe.
Albanese said the defense partnership would provide a framework for the EU and Australia to cooperate on global challenges, marking as areas of collaboration defense industries, maritime security, cyber security, countering terrorism and combating hybrid threats such as disinformation.
“It shows our shared commitment to global peace and security, including reaffirming our steadfast support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion,” Albanese said.
Albanese said the pact also removed tariffs on key Australian exports including wine, seafood and horticulture.
The EU will open two tariff rate quotas of a total of 30,600 metric tons (33,731 U.S. tons) for Australian red meat, with 55% of that duty free.
Under the trade deal, Australian producers of prosecco, traditionally a sparkling wine from northern Italy, will be banned from using the name on exports 10 years after the pact takes effect.
A start date for the pact has not been announced.
The pact will also help the EU secure supplies of critical raw materials including lithium and tungsten.
An EU free trade deal with four South American countries will begin on May 1 after more than a quarter-century of negotiations and new global economic uncertainty.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, center left, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shake hands after an agreedment on the final text of a free trade agreement at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, as EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic, left, and Australian Minister for Trade, Don Farrell, right, look on. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shake hands after signing a joint statement during a ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — A jet landing at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport collided with a fire truck on the runway, killing the pilot and copilot and injuring several others. Here’s what you need to know:
The crash occurred around 11:45 p.m. on Sunday when an Air Canada regional jet arriving from Montreal struck an airport fire truck traveling across the runway to respond to a separate incident aboard another plane.
According to air traffic control audio, the pilot of that other plane — United Flight 2384 — reported a “weird odor” was causing flight attendants to feel ill while the plane was waiting to take off. The pilot declared an emergency and requested to return to a gate and for firefighters to respond.
Audio recordings from the airport control tower indicate the truck was initially cleared to cross the runway before a controller tried to pull it back to avoid a collision. The unnamed controller repeatedly told the vehicle to stop and diverted incoming aircraft from landing. He said later in the recording: “I messed up.”
Photos and videos from the crash's aftermath show the jet’s nose crushed and tilted upward, with debris hanging from the mangled cockpit. Stairways used to evacuate passengers were pushed up to the emergency exits and the damaged emergency vehicle lay on its side nearby.
Weather at the time of the crash included moderate winds of about 7 knots and visibility of around 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) with mist and fog conditions, according to Bryan Bedford, head of the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot and copilot were the only confirmed fatalities of the roughly 70 passengers and four crew members on board the Jazz Aviation flight, which was operating on behalf of Air Canada.
Their names have not been released by officials, but a family member identified one of them as Antoine Forest of Canada.
About 40 passengers and crew members were also taken to area hospitals, some with serious injuries, the authority said. Most were released as of Monday morning.
Two emergency responders traveling in the fire truck also suffered non-life-threatening injuries. One was expected to be released later Monday, while the other will spend another night in the hospital, according to Kathryn Garcia, head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.
Among the survivors was a flight attendant who was thrown from the plane while still strapped in her seat. Solange Tremblay suffered multiple fractures to her leg that require surgery but is miraculously OK, according to her daughter.
LaGuardia was shut down following Sunday’s crash and all air traffic was diverted. It reopened Monday afternoon but with just one runway in operation and significant delays.
The crash and temporary closure were the latest misery for U.S. airports struggling under a partial shutdown over government funding during the busy spring break season.
LaGuardia is a major transit hub — the 19th busiest out of more than 500 airports in the country in 2024, according to the FAA.
Sunday’s crash was the first fatal accident at the airport in more than 30 years, New York officials said.
LaGuardia, named after Depression-era Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, opened to commercial traffic in 1939 and is located in the New York City borough of Queens, some 9 miles (14 kilometers) from Manhattan.
Federal investigators said late Monday it was too soon to answer many questions about the accident but promised more information would be released Tuesday.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation, said investigators will analyze the plane’s cockpit and flight data recorders, which were recovered from the wreck undamaged.
She said the runway where the crash happened is likely to be closed for days as investigators sift through a “tremendous amount of debris."
Canada has also sent a team to look into the circumstances of the collision.
Air traffic controllers are not directly affected by the current shutdown, which has lasted more than a month and has caused long lines and frustration among travelers at airports across the country.
Hundreds of Transportation Security Administration agents have called in sick or quit their jobs rather than be forced to work without pay. President Donald Trump, in response, deployed immigration enforcement officers to supplement TSA agents on Monday.
Congress remains deadlocked over approving funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the TSA.
The crash underscores the challenges air traffic controllers have faced in recent years.
Controllers are required to report to work without pay during government funding shutdowns as they are considered essential workers. But some over the years have taken to calling out of work sick in frustration, leading to staffing shortages that cause flight delays.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Monday declined to say how many controllers were on duty at the time of Sunday’s crash, deferring instead to the ongoing NTSB investigation.
But he denied rumors that the tower had only one controller on duty and said LaGuardia is “very well staffed,” with 33 certified controllers and more in training. He said the goal is to have 37 on staff.
Associated Press reporter Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this story.
Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo
An Air Canada Jet sits on the runway at LaGuardia Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, after colliding with a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle after landing in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Firefighters and investigators examine the site, Monday, March 23, 2026, where an Air Canada jet came to rest after colliding with a Port Authority firetruck at LaGuardia Airport, after landing Sunday night in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A Port Authority firetruck lays on its side just off the runway at LaGuardia Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, after colliding with an Air Canada jet shortly after it landed late Sunday night in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
