Australia and the European Union are ramping up their efforts to establish a free trade agreement, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese assuring local winemakers that Prosecco will be protected.

The EU wants to establish geographic indicators (GIs) for products including prosecco and feta, which would prevent Australian producers from using the terms, but the Australian Government said it is standing firm.

The PM met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen while attending Pope Leo XIV’s Mass of Inauguration in Rome.

“The Europeans will put forward what they think is in their interest, we will put forward what we believe is in Australia’s interest,” he said.

“One of the things about naming is that for a range of the products such as prosecco, to give just one, that are produced in Australia, the naming rights of those products are related to migrants from Europe who have come to Australia and produced products that they continue to call feta or prosecco because they’re based upon the heritage.

“That’s something that the Europeans should be proud of, in my view. We are very proud … we’re a multicultural nation, and we will put forward sensible propositions on that.

“As I have pointed out now publicly what I said previously to Ursula von der Leyen and other European representatives, that is something that should be a source of pride. The idea you still produce feta, but you call it something else, doesn’t change what it is [and], in my view, [is] not appropriate.”

Trade Minister Don Farrell backed up the PM’s statement, saying Australia would not strike a deal with the EU “at any price”.

“We’re up for a deal that’s in Australia’s national interest,” he told the Australian Financial Review.

Hopes revived in Prosecco battle with Europe