The EU and India have agreed to resume the long-running negotiations | Business and Financial Issues
The European Union and India have agreed to reopen free trade talks and seek cooperation to address climate change at a summit, as China’s concerns bring Brussels and New Delhi closer.
Slightly obscured by the COVID-19 crisis in India, a summit on Monday brought together Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all 27 bloc leaders for the first time in eight years to showcase new EU interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
The recent EU-India summits have affected only the Prime Minister of India and the EU’s chief executive officer.
“We have agreed to resume negotiations on … a trade agreement that can solve existing problems,” EU and India leaders said in a statement after the talks, adding that for the talks to be successful, both parties must address the challenges of market competition.
Similarly, the EU and India have begun negotiations on a separate security agreement and a consensus on the future – well-known brand names are often linked to local brands, from French champagne to Darjeeling tea in India.
“Between the EU and India there is a close relationship and a lot that will not work,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “What will not work is to do business and save money.”
China’s rise from its trading partner to a growing military force has sparked fears in the West and its allies in the Indo-Pacific, where Brussels wants to be led.
“We agreed that, as the two largest democracies in the world, the EU and India have a common interest in ensuring security, development and sustainable development in the polar country,” said the participants.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the resumption of negotiations.
“The talks have come to a standstill several times and that is why I am so happy to have them resumed,” he said at the EU summit.
He also said he hoped the work would progress “very quickly”.
EU-India trade talks were held in 2013 on a number of issues including tax cuts, patent protection, data protection and the right of Indian professionals to work in Europe.
Today’s meeting is a very important relationship.
We agreed to resume negotiations for a Trade Agreement!
Similarly, we will initiate negotiations on EU-India and Geographic finance agreements. pic.twitter.com/FwA35u4G6K
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 8, 2021
Competition with China
Leaders of the bloc, at an EU summit in Porto, Portugal, have been embroiled in controversy over Modi’s military actions, with groups including Amnesty International overseeing candles outside the summit.
Prior to the talks, Amnesty International had called on EU leaders to pressure Modi to “act” in accordance with the agreement.
“Tolerance of dissent has been a sign of the term of Prime Minister Modi,” said Eve Geddie, EU chief of staff.
A 2020 study in the European Parliament provided the benefits of trade agreements with the EU and India to $ 8.5 billion ($ 10.2bn), even though this calculation took place before the United Kingdom left.
The EU and India also agreed on international infrastructure, especially in Africa, to be called a joint venture.
The agreement follows an agreement between the EU and Japan in 2019, seeking an alternative solution to China’s main Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that has left West and Tokyo in doubt.
Both groups also pledged increased cooperation to reduce climate change. EU and Indian officials have held meetings to discuss energy efficiency, energy efficiency and power grid repairs.
