France, Feb. 6 -- The EU is Australia's third-biggest trading partner, after China and Japan, while Australia is the bloc's 20th-biggest trading partner.

But negotiations between Brussels and Canberra hit a wall in 2023 after five years of painstaking discussions over Australia's push for access to the European market for its agricultural products such as beef and lamb.

This time around, talks are zeroing in on duty-free quotas for imported Australian beef, which the EU hopes to cap at around 30,000 tonnes per year, while Canberra wants access for 40,000 tonnes.

Supporters in the EU say a free trade agreement (FTA) with Australia would offer a range of opportunities, not just in the food industry.

The EU wants to cut its reliance on C...