Brussels, 04/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - On a visit to New Delhi as part of an Asian tour which had earlier taken him to Hanoi and Singapore, Karel De Gucht told the press after a meeting with the Indian trade minister, Anand Sharma, on Thursday 4 March, that he is aiming at a bilateral free trade agreement with India for October, the date fixed for the next EU/India summit. “Mr Sharma and myself share the view … Our aim should be that this deal is done by the next summit meeting between the EU and India which is due to take place in October. This will mean that we will speed up the negotiations, so the negotiators have some busy weeks and months before them”, De Gucht stressed. After eight days around the negotiating table, talks launched in 2007 showed only slight progress mainly because discussions are stumbling on sensitive issues such as public procurement, high customs duties and non-tariff barriers, and also because New Delhi has shown reticence to date about negotiating certain issues that the EU wants to include in the agreement, as well as environmental norms, intellectual property rights and, above all, social norms and work by children. On Thursday, De Gucht said he was confident, as reported by AFP, that an agreement could be rapidly reached on issues relating to trade barriers, market access and social and environmental standards. “We shall, if necessary, hold a ministerial meeting to resolve any outstanding problems”, he promised. In the meantime, acceptance by New Delhi to include questions on environmental and social norms in the agreement, and in particular children's rights, will be essential for the future of a possible accord. “The European Parliament will never agree, I think to a deal that would remain silent on these topics”, the commissioner warned. (E.H./transl.jl)