The negotiation of a free trade agreement between the European Union and the Crown for New Zealand began in July 2018 and concluded in June 2022.

The agreement entered into force on 1 May 2024. Ngā Toki Whakarururanga was actively trying to influence the negotiations, but was subject to a confidentiality agreement that limited what could be said to other Māori rōpū.

When the EU was pressed to include a genuine Indigenous Peoples’ chapter, it refused saying it didn’t have Indigenous Peoples, or at least it was a national matter for states that did so it had no mandate. Including one would have made it difficult for an FTA to be accepted. As a result, the agreement only refers to Māori and not to Sámi.

And has a weak and unenforceable Māori Trade and Economic chapter, like the UK FTA. The Tiriti assessment shows there are token concessions in several chapters, and some small gains such as royalties for creatives when their works are on-sold.

There are the strongest protections for Māori data sovereignty and digital governance. And there is no investor-state enforcement of rules that protect investors.  But there are also many of the standard problematic rules that are common to the FTAs.