In Brief: What The India-EU Partnership May Look Like In Future

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.

What was discussed?

As von der Leyen tweeted, the Commission was hoping to negotiate:

• ambitious trade and investment agreements,

• driving the digital revolution,

• climate change,

• energy transition.

The talks on these issues would probably culminate later in:

• a free trade agreement, The two partners revived the talks on a comprehensive FTA last May;

• an investment protection agreement and;

• A geographical Indications agreement.

Context

In the last decade, EU-India trade in goods has increased by 41 per cent and trade in services has increased by 76 per cent. The total value of EU-India trade in 2020 amounted to Euro 96 billion.

The EU is one of the largest investors in India accounting for 16 per cent of total investments received between 2015-20 (Euro 83 billion in 2000-2021).

The 4,500 European companies operating in India contribute to the creation of over 1.5 million direct and 5 million indirect jobs.

The EU-India Clean Energy and Climate Partnership holds out untapped potential to engage in areas such as smart grids or storage, clean energy financing or green hydrogen.

Agricultural export: The European Union is the second major destination for Indian organic food products.

• Under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), exports to EU stood at $356 million in 2020-21, accounting for around 34 per cent of the $1040 million worth worldwide organic food products export from India.

Special focus: The India-European Union (EU) Connectivity Partnership is a vital component of the EU’s Global Gateway initiative.

• The Global Gateway is a Euro 300 billion-heavy investment project where the focus lies on green initiatives.

• The EU has suggested leveraging the strengths of the European Investment Bank and the private sector as key to effective implementation of the Connectivity Partnership.

• This project will aim for investments in quality infrastructure in order to connect goods, services, institutions, banks, businesses and people across the world.

The ultimate aim of Global Gateway is to support the fostering of resilient global supply chains and strengthen the decision-making autonomy of the EU's partners.

First stop for EU chief: On the very first day of the visit to India, von der Leyen engaged with stakeholders of the International Solar Alliance - India's flagship initiative.

• In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the EU head, European dependency on Russian fossil fuels is not only unsustainable but also a security concern.

• India and the EU can collaborate on transition to home-grown renewable energy as a strategic investment in security.