Brussels, 08/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - The EU and India will not conclude their negotiations on a bilateral investment and trade agreement (BITA) at the annual summit to be held in Brussels on 10 December, though they are expected to give a commitment to completing talks by spring. On the political level, issues related to security, defence and counter-terrorism are likely to dominate discussions. The two sides will, however, come in for criticism, notably on the new trade pact.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and High Representative Catherine Ashton will meet Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Friday on the occasion of the 11th EU-India Summit. A Community source has revealed that the stated objective of the meeting is to enhance the political dimension of the EU-India partnership, by means of increased cooperation on security and counter-terrorism.
On the bilateral level, the issues of cooperation in security, defence and peace-keeping will be on the agenda for discussion by leaders, who will also assess the progress made on tackling terrorism. Discussions will focus, too, on economic cooperation, in particular negotiations on a free trade agreement, and on energy cooperation, including energy efficiency and renewables. On the regional level, the parties will discuss the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. On the multilateral level, the leaders will, following the G20 meeting in Seoul, discuss global economic governance and how to stimulate economic recovery. Global threats and challenges, such as non-proliferation, disarmament and climate change, as the Cancún conference currently debates this issue, will also be important items on the agenda.
“I am particularly confident that we will make headway towards a free trade agreement at this summit. We should now give the final push to these talks so we can hail a historic agreement when we meet next year in Delhi. We will also give renewed political impetus to our cooperation in the field of energy. We can do even more to exploit the potential of green and clean technologies together, to the benefit of our citizens and businesses”, Barroso said in the run-up to the summit. “We will give fresh momentum to the on-going negotiations on the Trade and Investment Agreement, which will bring significant economic benefits to both sides and further strengthen our strategic partnership” added Van Rompuy in a joint press release.
The EU and India will not, as was thought at one time, conclude their BITA negotiations, though talks continue. Meeting on 29 November, Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharma painted a positive picture of on-going negotiations on a bilateral free trade pact, after 10 rounds of discussions since 2007. Negotiators will submit a progress report to European leaders and the Indian prime minister on Friday. A number of issues have still to be tied up, but the two sides are expected on Friday to declare their willingness to intensify discussions, particularly to resolve the most difficult issues. A Community source has said that the tariff liberalisation package is ambitious, likewise the package on access to the market and to services. The EU side is pleased, too, that its Indian partner has agreed to include a chapter on public procurement in the agreement, after recently showing reticence. Still to be found is a compromise on the chapter of sustainable development, including social and environmental standards, an area where progress has also been made. New Delhi has been given assurances that Brussels will find a satisfactory solution on access to generic medicines, a matter outside the future trade agreement, but one which could have proved a stumbling block.
Outside the institutions, the EU-India free trade agreement continues to draw criticism and doubt. The Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) criticises the Commission for using the EU-India business summit “to actively orchestrate big business support for the free trade agreement, despite criticism from small businesses and people's movements”. “The business summit … will provide a platform for big business to lobby for the more controversial elements in the trade deal. (The Commission) has provided millions of euro from its development fund to facilitate this process”, CEO laments, adding: “Campaigners have repeatedly warned that the planned EU-India free trade deal will destroy lives and livelihoods, with many of India's poorest particularly at risk”. The NGO Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), which has spoken out several times over the last few months, has again repeated its concerns over the free trade agreement, in particular some of the arrangements which, it says, will block other developing countries' access to generic medicines produced in India. Despite guarantees from De Gucht in an exchange of letters, MSF wants “a clear statement” from the Commission that EU demands on data exclusivity have been taken out of the negotiating text. (E.H./transl.rt)