The agreements with the Pacific countries are likely to offer “significant economic gains”, the European Commission said.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Open trade must go hand in hand with open and inclusive policy making.

“That's why the Commission published the draft negotiating mandates with Australia and New Zealand when it proposed to the Council to open these negotiations.”

He added that these agreements would build on the EU’s recent free trade agreements with Canada, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, as well as Mexico and others.

Trade between the EU and Australia and New Zealand is approximately the same as with Mexico or Canada, despite the distance, the commission said.

The deals will deliver jobs, growth and investment to the EU, as well as promote sustainable development through trade-related provisions on labour and environment, the EU said.