The potential free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union is down to the wire, with nothing set in stone, 1News understands.
It comes just hours before Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is set to give an update in Brussels.
Regardless of whether an agreement in principle can be reached, the Prime Minister will give an update on progress in the early hours of Friday morning (NZ time).
She has maintained New Zealand won’t sign a deal that isn’t commercially sensitive, but there’s hope a deal can be reached while Ardern is in Brussels.
An FTA with the EU has been in the works for years. It was first formally proposed by New Zealand in 2009, with the mandate for negotiations finalised for both sides in 2017-2018. Negotiations were formally launched in 2018.
The initial sixth round of negotiations was completed back in December 2019.
In February 2022, Ardern said she held talks over the summer on a potential EU agreement, saying "our eye is on the prize with the European Union this year".
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