We’re ready to take next step in our relationship: EU official lauds President Ursula von der Leyen’s India visit

NEW DELHI: A top European Union official on Friday highlighted the 20-year steady relationship between India and the EU, and said that both parties are ready to take the relationship to “next level”, amid a fundamental change in global dynamics.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen concluded her visit to India today. During her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both parties directed their teams to conclude Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations by the end of the year.

The EU official also mentioned that this meeting was also in preparation for an India-European summit, the date of which is yet to be decided.

“This meeting was not a summit, but we are in fact preparing for a summit and we want to do that by joining forces, exploring ideas and by defining a new strategic agenda that will be taken to the summit and that will become for engagement between the European Union,” the EU official said in a virtual media briefing.

“India as a part of the strategic partnership, that exists for more than 20 years, we celebrated the 20 anniversary last year and we now feel we are ready to take the next step in this relationship, and ofcourse in a world that is fundamentally changing,” the official added.

Talking about the FTA, the official mentioned how President Leyen had called for countries to come together as “likeminded parties” and join forces for the Agreement.

“Starting on Trade, there was a lot of discussion on trade because we are engaged in the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), President von der Leyen was also clear in her statement to the press earlier that the context really calls for us to come together now, and that is the geopolitical context for EU and India as likeminded parties to come together and to join forces on this very important and sizeable FTA,” the official said.

“The two leaders, President and Prime Minister took the commitment to conclude the agreement before the end of this year. This would then be in principle by the time of the summit that is still to be scheduled,” he added.

The official also revealed that there were discussions on tariffs, and on “key interests” of the European Union, including cars, wines and spirits, adding, “There were certain discussions, including on the importance of having strong commitments from the Indian side, including on tariffs and on key interests of the European Union, including cars, wines and spirits.”

As part of the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ursula von der Leyen, the issue of semiconductors also came up, and and how the Trade and Technology Council was a platform for that.

“The issue of semiconductors, it was highlighted as an area for deeper and dedicated discussions. The next TTC would in fact focus on the issue of semiconductors where we have interests that are very much aligned, but also some concerns regarding that are aligned when it comes to export controls that exists for example in United States and these controls may develop in the future,” he said.

Discussing the India-Middle East-East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), which was announced 2 years ago at the G20 summit in India, the EU official said, “On to the wider issue of connectivity, IMEEC is the key word. Both sides (EU and India) are interested in advancing work on this corridor, even if the middle part is in in gridlock due to the known situation in the middle east. There is agreement.”

When asked on the discussions which took place regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, the European official said that both the Indian and the EU side saw “broad recognition for the position of both sides.”

“Strong partnership is not only there to deliver on bilateral issue, but also global issues, on the global landscape, how it is changing potentially in Ukraine and we are certainly hoping for lasting peace. There are of course discussions going on in Washington and other parts of the world. We saw these discussions, also on the Middle East (Israel-Palestine).”

Adding that the discussion focussed on making sure India and EU are “preferential partners” which come together on bilateral and global issues.

There was broad recognition for the position of both sides. We saw strong alignment on many issues, I did not see much divergence on issues, it was more about making sure that we are each other’s preferential partners that come together on bilateral and global priorities,” the official said.

Earlier, concluding her India visit, President Leyen concluded, “Prime Minister, Ministers, Commissioners, we are going back to Europe with fresh ideas for the future of our cooperation and the Summit later this year. India and the EU are together greater than the sum of our parts. Together, we send a powerful and positive signal to the world. The planets are aligned – and so are Europe and India.”

Highlighting the need to bolster cooperation between new Delhi and Brussels in the areas of digital technology, Artificial Intelligence and defence, EU President Ursula von der Leyen termed India as a “pillar of certainty” for Europe in an “increasingly uncertain world”. (ANI)