BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union and New Zealand have completed negotiations to create a free trade agreement that could boost trade between the two partners by 30%, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday. Free trade negotiations begin in mid-2018 and, for the EU, are designed to put the bloc’s trade relations with New Zealand on a par with countries that already have a trade agreement with New Zealand, notably those of the 11-nation CPTPP Asia-Pacific deal. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, editing by Marine Strauss)