Brussels, 13/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - The 9th session of negotiations on an EU-India Free Trade Agreement in Brussels this week (12-16 April) is crucial if a final agreement is to be completed by the end of the year, as European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharma undertook to do in New Delhi at the start of March. Negotiators from the two sides, who, according to an Indian source quoted by Indian daily Business Standard, have already agreed to get rid of tariffs on 90% of goods traded between the EU and India (a figure the EU would like to see increased to 98% of its goods and India to 95% of its goods), will get down this week to the most thorny issues, with the EU wanting, above all, to persuade India to remove motor cars, dairy products, wines and spirits from its list of sensitive products. The chapters on trade in goods and in services, where progress has been slower, are not, however, the real bone of contention. The chapters on opening public contracts and protection of intellectual property rights (the EU is pressing for “ADPIC-plus” protection) are the most controversial. However, as has already been seen (EUROPE 10092 and 10112), it is especially the related chapter on sustainable development which forms the greatest stumbling block to agreement. The EU wants this chapter in the agreement, but this will require a commitment from India to adhere to a number of international labour conventions, to adopt international environmental standards and to comply with several human rights principles. For New Delhi, the inclusion of non-trade issues in the bilateral agreement is a step too far. However, while the Indian business world and the Indian parliament are reluctant to approve any agreement that would make a trade pact with the EU conditional on human rights, the European Parliament, with enhanced powers in the area of trade after the Lisbon Treaty came into force, has warned that it will not approve any agreement which does not contain such conditions. In private, European negotiators say that the chapter on sustainable development is a “necessary formality” to appease the European Parliament, a formality which will take the form of a letter of intention rather than a legally binding commitment. According to Business Standard, on the Indian side, caution is the watchword with such arguments, which provide no guarantee that the EU will not use human rights as a trade weapon. In addition, India's acceptance of this non-trade chapter would have without implications for its position in WTO multilateral talks. (E.H./transl.rt)