Brussels, 26/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - The EU and India will both have to show greater flexibility or risk scuppering their negotiations for a bilateral free-trade agreement, warned Karel De Gucht, after the informal meeting of European trade ministers in Brussels on Monday 26 September.
“We remain fully committed to the negotiations. But I must admit that it will not be easy to reach an agreement”, even though it will be “of the greatest importance”, commented the trade commissioner, who hopes to be able to conclude the matter before the next annual bilateral EU-India summit, in February 2012.
In order to achieve this, the Europeans and Indians will have to be flexible, in order to resolve all outstanding issues, which range from customs duties on cars and fortified wines to intellectual property (particularly the issue of geographical indications), to public procurement and the opening-up of the services market. The negotiations for an EU-India free-trade agreement, which were launched in 2007 and have long been moving at a snail's pace - there have already been 13 sessions - have also been slowed down by issues of access to generic drugs and the inclusion of a sustainable development clause in the agreement. (LC/EH/transl.fl)