| ▲ | s_dev 17 hours ago |
| For me the most striking thing about this was before the Brexit referendum there was rhetoric about how the UK would form a CANZUK alliance with free movement of people and goods between these countries, forming a sort of English speaking EU. Even if Canada and Australia don't join the EU as full members which is unlikely anyway (deeper ties are definitely on the table though), these sort of announcements should put to bed these complete and utter fantasies the UK has about leading some alternative world order where it's in charge and can go toe to toe with the EU. https://boris-johnson.com/2013/08/25/the-aussies-are-just-li... https://www.ippr.org/articles/could-the-idea-of-the-anglosph... Even many British would agree that Brexit was full of absolute lies, and even to this day you still see them being repeated in certain circles. These weren't even possibilities. |
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| ▲ | josephg 17 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| Australian here. Theres no way we’re joining the EU. Brussels is on the other side of the planet from Australia. Our major trading partners are nearby countries, like China, Japan, NZ, and the US. Not continental Europe. Europe is too far away. |
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| ▲ | ceejayoz 16 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Brussels and DC are almost the same distance from Canberra. (Also Australian, but living in the US.) https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/southeast-asia-pacific/au... > U.S. goods and services (exports plus imports) trade with Australia totaled an estimated $102.0 billion in 2025, up 15.6 percent ($13.8 billion) from 2024. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/eu-australia... > In 2024, trade in goods and services between the European Union and Australia was worth over €91 billion. (That's $105B in FreedomBucks, and excludes the UK.) | | |
| ▲ | josephg 16 hours ago | parent [-] | | > Brussels and DC are almost the same distance from Canberra. Yes. We’re not interested in joining the EU. And we’re not interested in becoming a US state. But trade doesn’t need to go all the way to DC. By plane, Sydney to LA is about - 13.5 hours. Sydney to Brussels is 20 hours. I imagine the difference is even greater for cargo ships, which can sail directly through the pacific. I have no idea how cargo goes from Australia to Europe. That sounds like a complex route. As for trade, the US is important but they’re not our most important trading partner. China accounts for $326 billion aud in trade annually. If your numbers are right, that’s more than our trade with the US and Europe combined. I suspect integrating into the EU single market wouldn’t be worth it for us. We’re not part of Europe. We’re not a European country. https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/china/china-country-brief | | |
| ▲ | ceejayoz 16 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | > We’re not interested in joining the EU. The article isn't about joining the EU (as the original post you replied to called it, "unlikely anyway"). > But trade doesn’t need to go all the way to DC. Nor Brussels; Perth to Greece via the Suez cuts the time, too. > As for trade, the US is important but they’re not our most important trading partner. OK, but the EU and US trade with Australia roughly equivalently per the numbers, and you said "Our major trading partners are nearby countries, like China, Japan, NZ, and the US. Not continental Europe." It's just a flatly false claim. | |
| ▲ | petre 16 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Chill, nobody said anything about Oz joining the EU. We live in quite different time zones. A free trade agreement on the other hand might work. Canada has one if the remaining 10 EU state would bother to actually ratify it. | | |
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| ▲ | s_dev 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | You might have missed this bit: >Even if Canada and Australia don't join the EU as full members which is unlikely anyway And like I point out, deeper ties are definitely on the table which is more like what will happen. The world is reorganising around US tariffs as a natural economic reaction here. | |
| ▲ | epihelix 16 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Did you read TFA (the Reuters one) that quotes the Australian trade minister? Or are you somehow more involved in determining trade agreements than the minister? Trump has upended decades of stable trade relationships. I would not assume anything right now. (To be clear, neither Canada nor Australia are claimed to be seeking to be EU members - but closer trade ties with the EU appear to be on the cards for both nations. When you can no longer trust the US to act in good faith, everything changes.) | | |
| ▲ | hylaride 16 hours ago | parent [-] | | I suspect it'll be expanding the current trading agreement to allow more direct investment. Canada and Australia both have lots of raw materials the EU needs. I suspect you'll see more types of worker visas (similar to the old NAFTA T1 styles that allow relatively easy sponsorship of employees). I'd love to have full rights to live and work in the EU, but I'd be happy just being able to visit the EU as a Canadian and use the EU customs lines. I don't think Canada would go for full mobility. We're just now dealing with the backlash of too many immigrants from South Asia, a "flood" of poorer Eastern Europeans would probably rekindle that. |
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| ▲ | smackeyacky 17 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| It is a total fantasy that Australia would throw back in with the ghost empire that is the UK. They literally have nothing to offer us apart from a figurehead head of state. |
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| ▲ | andai 17 hours ago | parent [-] | | [flagged] | | |
| ▲ | ceejayoz 17 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | You have the same right to apply for asylum. "as an Australian" claims of escaping persecution and violence might be slightly harder to sustain. That's a good thing for Australia. | |
| ▲ | afavour 17 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | You'd both have the same rights. I suspect you know this, which is why you pivoted from "right to live" to "would be welcomed", which are pretty clearly not the same thing. | |
| ▲ | BobbyTables2 17 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | As a non-Australian, I’d say your country’s own immigration policy is fairly unwelcoming. I get no country wants to accept a wave of 80 year olds that will be a burden to its social welfare systems. But I find it strange one would automatically deny seasoned working professionals in excellent health with knowledge, experience, and finances to offer — just because they were born before the premier of Good Morning Australia in 1981. | | |
| ▲ | josephg 16 hours ago | parent [-] | | Per capita, Australia lets in more migrants per year than almost any other wealthy country. Our immigration process is non political - it’s run by a government department who write, publish and enforce our policies. Which is a huge step up from many other countries we could name. You may disagree with our selection criteria. I wish we provided exceptions for people I like too. But at a large scale, I think it’s much better that we make our rules clear and stick to them. | | |
| ▲ | ceejayoz 16 hours ago | parent [-] | | > Our immigration process is non political - it’s run by a government department who write, publish and enforce our policies. This is a deeply unserious claim. You could make a claim for it being setup as non-partisan. But non-political? Government officials aren't subject to political issues? That's a new one. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/14/one-n... > One Nation said on Monday it would cut the number of temporary migrants in Australia by more than 750,000 over three years, targeting international students and family members of skilled migrants. > Hanson’s announcement comes as Labor and the Coalition consider new cuts to overseas arrivals, in an increasingly charged contest before the next federal election. Hanson will hope her plan plays well in the lead-up to the Victorian state election, due in November. Reducing the quota would be a political act, yes? | | |
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| ▲ | smackeyacky 17 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | West Indian migration put an end to that[0]. Unintended side effect of good old British racism. [0] https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/the-... | | | |
| ▲ | 17 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | [deleted] |
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| ▲ | ta20240528 17 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| "Even if Canada and Australia don't join the EU as full members" The European project is bigger than the EU - that's just the central core. There's also the EFTA, EEA, CEFTA, CU, Eurozone, Shengen, CoE, and Swiss-style bilateral treaties. See https://thisbugslife.com/2021/05/10/graphic-representation-o... Canada can easily find a home one of these. |
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| ▲ | petre 16 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Too bad those countries are so far apart even if they've once been part of the same empire. |
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| ▲ | callamdelaney 17 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| [flagged] |
