Transcript – Joint press statements
OLAF SCHOLZ, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY: I am delighted to be able to welcome you to the German Capital on your first official visit. Especially in times like these, we can see how important it is to closely exchange with partners, also with partners that are half a world away, if you will, like our friends from Down Under. Just ahead of the NATO Summit in Vilnius that will begin tomorrow, we see this opportunity to discuss Russian aggression in Ukraine and its impact. We also spoke about the challenges ahead for both of our countries. Australia provides huge support to Ukraine in military and humanitarian terms, and I thanked Prime Minister Albanese for this strong message of solidarity with Ukraine and also with Europe. I am very happy to see that Australia, as of this Autumn, will also make a contribution to air surveillance in the eastern part of the alliance and will deploy an Air Force jet in Germany, and more specifically Ramstein. Both our countries are committed to the rules based international order. We agree that borders must be respected and must not be changed by the use of force. We will not accept might makes right. The rule of law must be enforced. And this is why we support Ukraine so that it can defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The bilateral relations between Germany and Australia are close and built on friendship. Last year, we celebrated the 70th anniversary of our bilateral relations. This is this is a vivid relationship defined by cultural exchange, people to people contact, close political cooperation and also close economic ties. When it comes to questions of economic security, diversification and resilient supply chains, we have agreed today that we will cooperate even more strongly in the future. This is a core goal of the new German National Security Strategy. Politics and companies in both our countries are facing similar challenges in this regard. We are convinced that an ambitious Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Australia will help us to master these challenges. It will support our regions to diversify our trade relations, thus becoming less dependent on individual suppliers.
For the same reason, we have agreed today that we will further deepen the cooperation between our economies. Also, in order to build up supply chains for critical minerals and raw materials, a joint study will identify concrete options for cooperation and will analyse how we can implement the highest social and ecological standards in a rules based trade system. We also spoke about armament and I am very happy about the agreement on the Boxer that was just concluded. It highlights our firm wish to deepen our strategic cooperation, as close partners in values. And I hope that we will also cooperate with other systems in the future too. Climate was also a topic discussed during our meeting. We wanted companies from Germany and Australia to further expand cooperation on the production and transportation of green hydrogen. With their cooperation, Germany and Australia are making an important contribution to reaching climate neutrality. We also want to expand our existing energy partnership and develop it into a climate partnership in order to fight climate change even more effectively. I am delighted that Australia has announced its will to join the Climate Club. Anthony, thank you so much for being here today.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you very much, Chancellor. And it is indeed an honour to be here today as a guest of Chancellor Scholz and to thank him for the friendship that we have developed over the last year as leaders of our respective nations. Thank you also for your warm remarks. Australia comes to Germany as a partner. This is my sixth visit to Berlin but my first as Prime Minister. We are partners in the clean energy transition, in free trade and in trusted commerce. A partner in support of the rules based order and democracy. A partner in solidarity with Ukraine. Australia and Germany are close friends, and our relationship is growing stronger. As threats to the rules-based order appear both in Europe and the Indo Pacific, we are each making contributions to the others’ security. As Germany makes a historic transformation to carbon neutrality, Australia has emerged as a partner in closer climate cooperation and in critical minerals. And as trusted networks of trade become more important, the Chancellor’s commitment to free trade is crucial to us.
Unsurprisingly then, our discussions today have been warm and productive. On trade, regional security, defence and the green economy, we are working together. We discussed the ongoing negotiations of the Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement. The FTA will diversify trade and strengthen economic links between Australia and the EU at a time of considerable and global uncertainty. I thanked Chancellor Scholz for Germany’s support for an ambitious agreement that delivers for Australian and German businesses, workers and their families. Ultimately, our negotiations with the EU will only be concluded when we have a good deal, and one that includes new market access for our agricultural products.
No challenge is of course more pressing than that posed by climate change. Australia and Germany are now united in our deep commitment to tackling climate change. And I commended Chancellor Scholz on his development of Germany’s Climate Club, and was pleased to confirm that Australia will join that high-ambition initiative. Together with the G7, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, the Netherlands and Luxemburg we are united in our commitment to be ambitious about taking up the opportunities that come from acting on climate. My Government has set the ambition for Australia to be a Renewable Energy Superpower. But we also want to be a renewable energy export superpower, working with countries like Germany, on the industries of the future. For example, we know that exports of green hydrogen derivatives from Australia to Germany can work, and that businesses at both ends are working on this. Growing jobs and industry is a key aim for my Government, and for Chancellor Scholz’s government as well. We’re also working together to lay the foundations for critical minerals supply chains between our two countries.
The Chancellor and I discussed the NATO summit, which begins tomorrow, and the role Australia and NATO’s other Indo-Pacific partners can play. Upholding the international rules-based order is more important than ever in the wake of Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine. I commended the Chancellor for Germany’s leadership in Europe’s response to Russia’s aggression. Australia will continue to consult with Ukraine and other partners on how we can best support the defence of Ukraine and its national sovereignty into the future. I am announcing today a new Australian contribution to supporting security in Europe through the deployment to Germany of an E-7A Wedgetail early warning aircraft. This aircraft will help to protect the multinational logistics hubs that are essential to the flow of military and humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. This deployment includes up to 100 crew and support personnel from Australia. It will be deployed for 6 months and will operate in European airspace. We are grateful to Germany for hosting this deployment. This demonstrates Australia’s commitment to upholding the rules-based international order.
Today I reiterated Australia’s appreciation for Germany’s growing engagement in the Indo-Pacific and thanked the Chancellor for the strong signal that his own travel to the region has sent. And I invited Chancellor Scholz to visit Australia in 2024, and we’re very hopeful that that will occur and I extended an invitation to him to address the Australian parliament during such a visit.
I am pleased that our governments have established an in-principle arrangement for Australia to supply over 100 Boxer Heavy Weapon Carriers to Germany, starting in 2025. This will be one of the biggest defence sales in Australia’s history – worth over $1 billion dollars to the Australian economy in the production and supply of these vehicles. The majority of these vehicles will be produced by Rheinmetall at its Centre of Excellence in Redbank, Queensland, with the remainder to be built in Germany. And I’ve had contact today with Premier Palaszczuk who has very much welcomed the announcement that this will produce good, secure jobs in Queensland.
Australia and Germany are old friends. But the challenges and the new opportunities of today mean that we need to work together more closely in the future. Standing here before you today, the Chancellor and I are strengthening our relationship and committing to our shared ambition for the future. I thank you very much for the warm reception that I have received here.
JOURNALIST: Thanks very much gentlemen, Mark Riley from the Seven Network Australia. A question to both of you about the commitment of the surveillance aircraft. Prime Minister Albanese, this means that Australia is now as close to having boots on the ground as you can be without actually doing it. They’ll be in the air, on the border. Is this the beginning of a broader commitment – a physical commitment – of the Australian military to this broad campaign. And Chancellor Scholz, what does it mean to you as a NATO power for a country like Australia to make this sort of a commitment? And what sort of message do you think it sends to Vladimir Putin?
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Thank you, Mark. This is a very serious commitment. We have had meetings with our Defence Ministers from Ukraine and with Minister Marles during the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore. I met with President Zelenskyy briefly at the G7 meeting that was held in Hiroshima. And we have been liaising with our friends in Ukraine for how Australia can provide support. But we’re also talking to our friends in NATO. And we very much welcome the fact that Germany will host us here, up to 100 personnel as well as the E-7A Wedgetail. This is an important contribution. Australia, of course, is a long way from Europe. But one of the things that this war has done is remind us that in today’s interconnected globalised world, an event such as the land war in Europe has an impact on the entire world. We’ve been impacted by our economy, as well as we’ve been shocked by the brutal invasion, and the disregard for the international rules based order, which we had come to think was something that we hoped would be a permanent presence. So it is important that the democratic world react to defend the rules based order. This contribution is very significant, both for what it will do, but also for what it symbolises as well – which is Australia’s commitment to doing what we can to provide the appropriate resources which will maximise the impact of Australia’s contribution to support the integrity, and borders, and sovereignty of Ukraine.
CHANCELLOR SCHOLZ: For us, it is truly very important to know how much Australia supports Ukraine. And we’re doing this together with many other partners in the world. Ukraine needs this support. Because it is of course remarkable to see the bravery of the men and women in Ukraine, the army defending its country and the resilience of the entire country. But it is also true that without the financial, humanitarian and military support that we make available, it wouldn’t be possible to defend oneself in such a way. And so we are delighted about this massive support made by many countries in the world, also countries that are not immediately a member of the European Union, or a defensive alliance that is restricted to the Atlantic region. We are partners in our different international formats. And I am really moved and we will fully support this project to manage it well. It’s a very important step and a good one.
JOURNALIST: Thank you very much. Chancellor, I have a question regarding the NATO Summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Turkish President, Mr Erdoğan, said he would make his decision on the Swedish accession, depending on the EU clearing the way for Turkey’s accession to the EU. What do you think about this proposal? Is that something one should take seriously? Does one need to react to that? And a question to both of you. On Friday, the US announced it will deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine. There have been different reactions, also different reactions from allies. And I would like to hear from both Germany and Australia, members of the agreement ostracising cluster munitions. What is your stance? Do you reject such a delivery? Do you accept it because the US are an important ally? Or are you even in favour of it because it will help Ukraine in its defence?
CHANCELLOR SCHOLZ: Thank you very much for these very important questions. The first thing, Sweden’s accession to NATO. If you look at the facts, there is nothing in Sweden’s way. Sweden would perfectly fit NATO. It is a democratic country, it is a country with a powerful national defence structure, designed in a way that it can accede to NATO without any further adaptations. So I was delighted to see that NATO invited Finland and Sweden to join. I’m glad that Finland was already able to join and I hope very much that Sweden will become a member very soon. That is the positive message that I read from the comments of the Turkish President, that he sees this as a real possibility, and I will do everything I can to make this happen as quickly as possible – at best yesterday, already – so we’ll do our best to make NATO membership for Sweden a reality soon. The next question is one that is not linked to the first. So I think we shouldn’t see it as one topic. You know that the European Union at its last Summit, decided to ask the Commission to report to us about the current state of negotiations and the state of cooperation between Turkey and the EU, and that we want to improve their cooperation. The other question, that is a sovereign decision by the United States of America. We have signed the international convention that prohibits the use of such munitions. For us, we can say that we would not make such deliveries because we have made this commitment, and I won’t comment any further on this American decision.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Australia is also a signatory to the international convention. We don’t have such weapons and we don’t intend to change that position, and I agree with the Chancellor about his comments referring to what other nations may do.
JOURNALIST: Jacquelin Magnay from The Australian newspaper. President Scholz, or Chancellor Scholz, the Indo-Pacific leaders like Mr. Albanese are invited to NATO amid talk of a regional NATO Office in Japan being set up. I’m just wondering, why are European nations concerned about security in the Indo-Pacific? And you know, is NATO’s place in the South Pacific? And Mr. Albanese, what have you told Germany and Europe about the need for such security in the region?
CHANCELLOR SCHOLZ: Thank you very much for your question. It’s a very good sign, that not for the first time, NATO has invited its partners from the Indo-Pacific region. This means that we can continue the good discussions we had elsewhere. NATO is a transatlantic alliance, so it’s geographically located somewhere else, but we share insights, we share positions, and this is why I think it is important that we need to continue the cooperation that we’ve had. For Germany and other NATO partners it’s become a very common practice to deploy their own ships, vessels, aircraft to the Indo-Pacific for exercises to develop common understanding and so forth, and we will continue to do that.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: On NATO offices and their location, that’s really a matter for NATO. Australia, obviously, is a guest here, when we travel to Vilnius tomorrow. I think it’s very positive that in the just over a year that I’ve had the honour of being our Prime Minister, we have been invited to participate in two NATO Summits and I look forward to engaging with Japan, South Korea and New Zealand as well. And then to being able to present to all of the NATO members is, I think, an opportunity that Australia should always participate in when we’re invited. Just like I was honoured to participate in the G7 meeting that was held in Hiroshima just a short time ago. With regard to our region, I sent a message which is that democratic nations and friends, such as Germany, are always welcome to participate and to engage in our region. I see it as very positive. And it is good thing that Chancellor Scholz has visited the region. It’s a good thing that we’re having more cooperation, economic cooperation, which we hope ends up with a Free Trade Agreement that we are very hopeful of securing in the coming period. With increased engagement, including people to people, business to business, and country to country, what you do is strengthen the ties between us. And because we have such common values, values of support for democracy, values of support for and respect for sovereignty, and for multilateralism through forums. Values which are consistent, as well, with regard to our economy. So I see a great opportunity to have even more cooperation with Germany and to have a greater presence by Germany in the Indo Pacific, and a greater presence of Australia here in Europe.
JOURNALIST: Chancellor, I have a question on Ukraine and the NATO Summit. The US President has offered Ukraine sort of a military protection guarantee, like the Israeli model, which sounds very far reaching. Don’t you see a risk of this model being very close to actual NATO accession? And the comparison to Israel, from a German perspective, sounds very deep and very binding. Do you think it is right? And one question on the taxpayer scheme for married couples. Do you agree with your head of the Social Democratic Party? And a question to Mr Albanese. The Federal Chancellor just expressed that you will be joining the Climate Club. Your own country is currently building new coal-fired power plants and is also ramping up exports of fossil fuels. So what would be the impact if you were to join the climate club, would you change your policies in the coming years?
CHANCELLOR SCHOLZ: We are supporting Ukraine right now. There is an urgent need to defend their own country against the Russian aggression, the integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine is of most importance to us. So after the United States, we are the second country in terms of support – financial contributions, humanitarian contribution, and also arms deliveries. We also have included this in our budget and financial planning, so that we can live up to our obligations in the coming years to make sure that Ukraine is able to defend itself and defend its own territory and protect its land. We also will deepen cooperation within NATO, that’s what you’ve seen with the NATO Ukraine Council. And I very much speak up in favour of enhancing cooperation. As I’ve said, over many months, here and elsewhere, we talk about security guarantees for Ukraine after a peace agreement that we always hope for. And this is a discussion that is an intensive one. We also feel obliged to look into the possibility of security guarantees. We are discussing the design of such guarantees with the President of the United States, who has made a proposal. That is not entirely the EU – one that is relevant, and that could be a possibility – but this discussion is ongoing.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Australia is very pleased and proud to join the Climate Club. There has not been a new coal-fired power station built in Australia, nor is there one proposed or under construction, and that has been the case for well over a decade. There has been some rhetoric from some in the our Greens political party about that, but nothing has happened. In spite of the fact that the previous government had twenty two different energy policies and didn’t land any, nothing actually happened with regard to new coal-fired power. And the simple reason is this, that the cheapest form of new energy is renewables – in Australia, like most parts of the world. Our plan, that we have legislated, is for a 43% reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2050. That 2030 plan includes our energy grid being made up of 82% renewables. And what we’ve seen since our time in government, in just one year, is a massive increase in investment. Because our policy was supported by not just mainstream environmental groups, but by the Business Council of Australia, by the Australian Industry Group, which is represents large manufacturers, as well as our Australian Council of Trade Unions, as well as the Australian Conservation Foundation, and Greenpeace, and other mainstream environmental groups. So, we’re very pleased to join the Climate Club, because we are ambitious and we also see that this isn’t just the right thing to do by the environment but this is also the right thing to do by jobs and by our economy. And one thing we can do is to cooperate and learn off each other. Because you can’t address climate change as just a national issue. It has to be, by definition, a global response. And I praise Chancellor Scholz’s leadership and Germany’s leadership in establishing the Climate Club, and showing that leadership for a considerable period of time. Thanks very much.