India, EU Working on Series of Transformative Initiatives Besides Eyeing to Seal FTA by December

Eyeing to conclude their ambitious free trade deal soon, India and European Union will hold two rounds of crucial negotiations in next one month to overcome differences in areas of rules of origin, market access and duties on wine and dairy products, authoritative sources said on Sunday.

European Commission's agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen and trade chief Maros Sefcovic are visiting India this week to hold talks with their Indian interlocutors as both sides look to seal the free trade agreement (FTA) by end of this year.

The European Union is India's biggest trade partner with bilateral trade in goods recording USD 135 billion in the financial year 2023-24.

Besides the trade deal, India and the EU are also in the process of firming up a series of transformative initiatives including a new politico-strategic vision and key foundational frameworks to expand defence ties -- moves that came against the backdrop of increasing geopolitical uncertainty.

Significantly, the EU will unveil its new strategic vision for ties with India on September 17 that will comprise key elements of its futuristic outlook for relations with New Delhi.

The new measures are expected to be unveiled at the India-EU annual summit that is likely to be held in India within the first few months of next year.

The two sides will also hold a series of high-level meetings and talks in the next three months that include a visit to India by the EU's Political and Security Committee comprising envoys of the bloc's 27 member nations.

The India-EU counter-terror talks are also slated for this month in Brussels while the Standing Committee of EU parliament on trade will visit New Delhi in October. It will be followed by the Indo-Pacific ministerial forum on November 20-21.

The next meeting of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) is also likely to take place in November. The foreign policy and security dialogue between the two sides are also set to be held in Delhi.

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, is expected to visit India either in December or in January.

While the 13th round of negotiations for the FTA will be held this week in New Delhi, the next round has been slated for early next month in Brussels.

The two sides have already concluded negotiations on 11 chapters that included customs and trade facilitation, dispute settlement, digital trade, sustainable food system, small and medium-sized enterprises, competition and subsidies and capital movements.

Negotiations on several key chapters including rules of origin and market access are yet to be concluded, the sources said.

It is learnt that there are issues relating to non-tariff barriers as well but both sides are hopeful of resolving all contentious matters by finding the "right equilibrium".

In a phone conversation last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EU's top leaders Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen pledged to seal the trade deal soon and underlined the importance of India-EU partnership in jointly fostering global stability, and promoting a rules-based order.

The new strategic vision for India-EU ties will be analysed by various member nations before it is ratified.

The vision document, set to be the guiding light for next phase of India-EU relations, is expected to be adopted at the summit.

To boost defence cooperation, the two sides are negotiating a security of information agreement and two other frameworks with a larger aim to ramp up defence ties including to jointly develop military equipment and hardware, the sources said.

The upcoming meeting of the TTC assumes significance.

The TTC was unveiled in 2022 to facilitate exchange of critical technologies relating to an array of domains including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors and cybersecurity.

The TTC with India was the European Union's second such technology partnership after the first one with the United States that was firmed up in June 2021.