EU-India Bilateral Ties: The European Union (EU) is planning to give shape to a “new strategic agenda” with India during the upcoming three-day visit of Ursula von der Leyen, President, European Commission (EC), to India with a substantive delegation comprising all the EU Commissioners. Both sides are also expected to have tough talk on the long-pending trade agreement even as Brussels said India has high tariffs and is a “relatively closed market.”
The EC President’s visit is expected to pave the way for a new strategic partnership roadmap that will be unveiled at the India-EU Summit to be hosted by New Delhi later this year. President von der Leyen and Prime Minister Modi will hold a bilateral meeting on February 28.
“Security theatres of the world are connected … We have a strong strategic interest in the security theatres – both in the Indo-Pacific as well as in Ukraine. But our security cooperation with India has a much larger issue than just Ukraine. Our security cooperation with India covers already quite a few areas. We have regular security dialogues…We are trying to look at the next frontier, which is space and security, which is equally a priority for us,” a senior European Union official told ABP Live from Brussels, on condition of anonymity.
The official said, India has also shown interest in “security information” with the 27-nation bloc that will “open the door” for India to invest in security-related projects by the EU.
In 2020, both sides unveiled a ‘EU-India Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025’ which is going to be revised later this year during the Summit. In October 2023, the EU and India held their maiden joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Guinea. The exercise followed the third meeting of the EU-India Maritime Security Dialogue on 5 October in Brussels.
For the first time, the EU has appointed a Defence Attache at the Embassy in New Delhi, something that Brussels does only in those countries with which it has a wide-ranging defence agenda.
The official quoted above also said, both sides will also discuss issues related to the export of defence equipment from the EU to India. “But there’s no specific signature foreseen for any purchases or any agreements on defence specifically,” the official said.
The EU and India held their maiden joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Guinea in October 2023. Besides, in 2023 for the first time in the history of diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Brussels, the EU has appointed a Defence Attache at the Embassy in New Delhi, something that the 27-nation grouping deploys only in those countries with which it has a broad defence agenda.
Earlier this month announcing the visit, President von der Leyen said, “In this era of intense geostrategic competition, Europe stands for openness, partnership, and outreach. We seek to deepen ties with one of our most trusted friends and allies—India.”
“We are committed to strengthening our strategic partnership to advance trade, economic security, and resilient supply chains, along with a common tech agenda and reinforced security and defence cooperation,” she added.
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India’s Market Is ‘Closed’, Has High Tariffs
The official also said that while India and the EU will keep trade talks high on the agenda, it is unlikely that both sides will be arriving at the “finishing line”, meaning in other words that the negotiations, that originally began in 2007, are going to continue for a long time to come.
The EU and India resumed negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2022 following the visit of President von der Leyen to New Delhi. The next round of talks is scheduled to be held on 10-14 March 2025 in Brussels.
However, during the upcoming visit, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič will be meeting Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in Mumbai in an effort to put in fresh lease of the life to the ongoing talks that have hit a doldrum over issues concerning trade in agricultural goods, automobiles, wines and spirits.
“There are still some outstanding issues (in FTA talks) that include tariffs. India’s market is relatively closed especially on key products of commercial interest to the Union and to our member states and their industries, that includes cars, wines and spirits,” the official said.
The official also added that the EU is “driving a hard bar to make sure that we have an ambitious as well as a commercially meaningful free trade agreement that covers tariffs and non-tariff barriers and also procurement commitments.”
India and the EU are also negotiating a broad-based investment pact, the talks for which are also going on for a long time.
During the visit, the College of EU Commissioners, as they are called officially, both sides will hold a plenary session that will be chaired by President von der Leyen and Prime Minister Modi.
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