Brussels, 10/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - After having made no headway for considerable time, Europe and India have made great progress since autumn 2011 on the road towards a bilateral free trade agreement. The EU-India summit on 10 February allowed progress to be made official and an agreement is possible this autumn. Two statements signed in New Delhi on Friday commit Europeans and Indians to step up their cooperation in the field of energy, especially sustainable energy, and also in R&D and innovation.
The EU and India, which have been strategic partners since 2004, are expected to swiftly take their cooperation on economic matters to a higher level. Launched in 2007, talks on a free trade agreement intensified in autumn 2011, making substantial breakthroughs on various chapters, which were then sealed in the joint summit statement. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomed the “essential progress” made. The parties are committed to working intensely to find mutually acceptable solutions on outstanding issues, the statement reads, calling on Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht on the European side and on Trade Minister Anand Sharma on the Indian side to ensure talks move forward to a swift conclusion. “Our positions are now closer in all areas and the contours of the final agreement are emerging”, assured Commission President José Manuel Barroso, who expects “finalisation of these negotiations this autumn”. The parties must find solutions to the global tariff package, including for motor vehicles and spirits, on services and access to public procurement, and also agree on clauses in the agreement relating to sustainable development and medicines. In total, the EU-India free trade agreement, which would become the “single biggest trade agreement in the world, benefitting 1.7 billion people”, Barroso pointed out, would allow asymmetrical falls in customs duties, for 91-92% of EU products and for 95% of Indian products.
At the economic level, European and Indian leaders also adopted two joint statements, one on energy cooperation that opens the road to joint action regarding sustainable energy - clean coal, energy efficiency, renewables, smart networks, and also nuclear safety, and the other on cooperation in R&D and innovation, which will close the gap between the partners' industries and universities via an exchange of knowledge.
Afghanistan and relations with Pakistan were, naturally, a focus of discussions on international issues, as was Syria, a chapter on which the EU and India have agreed to promote the Arab League peace plan. Also, on Iran, Van Rompuy has called on India to use its influence with Tehran to seek to bring Iran to the negotiating table concerning its nuclear programme. (EH/transl.jl)