EU and Indonesia announce 'political agreement' on trade deal

Brussels, Belgium: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday announced a political agreement to conclude a l...

Brussels, Belgium: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday announced a "political agreement" to conclude a long-awaited free trade deal, as US leader Donald Trump upends global commerce.

"We're living in turbulent times and when economic uncertainty meets geopolitical volatility, partners like us must come closer together. So today we're taking a big step forward in this partnership," von der Leyen told journalists in Brussels.

"I am very pleased to report that we have just reached a political agreement on an ambitious Free Trade Agreement."

The 27-nation European bloc and Southeast Asia's largest economy have been negotiating since 2016 to agree a deal that is expected to increase trade and investment.

A European Commission statement called Sunday's agreement a "decisive milestone" towards striking the deal -- which is to be concluded in September by EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and Indonesia's chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto.