Brussels. European parliamentarians have urged Australia to put planned free trade talks with Britain on ice, concerned that Australia will play off Britain and European Union against each other.

They gave Australia a ticking off on Thursday for starting talks on a free trade deal with Britain, complaining that it might hurt negotiations on a planned free trade deal with the EU – of which Britain is still a member.

Trade Minister Steve Ciobo and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop addressed the European Parliament's foreign affairs and trade committees on Thursday, with the aim of bolstering Australia's bid for an FTA with the EU, which they hope to start negotiating in earnest early next year.

Mr Ciobo had announced on Tuesday that Australia and Britain would set up a "bilateral trade working group" to start planning their own trade negotiations, even though Britain is not supposed to have such negotiations while it is still an EU member state.