Only a handful of foreign leaders have been granted the honour of addressing the Australian parliament. In a sign of the times, we’ve now hosted two in the space of three weeks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Canberra with a major free trade agreement and defence pact in one hand, and an ominous warning in the other.
“The world we live in is brutal, harsh and unforgiving. It feels upside down. What we knew as certainties are in question,” she told gathered Australian MPs and senators on Tuesday.
“Europe is open for business. We are rearming. We are decarbonising. We are preparing. We are becoming an independent Europe.”
