Brussels, 24/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - At the 13th bilateral EU-India summit in Brussels on 30 March (the first bilateral summit between the two partners since February 2012 - see EUROPE 10551), the leaders of the EU - European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker - and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will try to give fresh impetus to the laborious EU-India free trade negotiations that have been on hold since spring 2013.
Relaunching the BITA negotiations. The EU and India tried in vain in 2015 and early 2016 (see EUROPE 11466) to relaunch the negotiation process for a bilateral investment and trade agreement (BITA). The negotiations had been launched in 2007 but put on hold after 13 sessions of technical level discussions (the last in May 2013), ahead of the general elections in India in spring 2014 which brought Narendra Modi to power. Back then, the two parties had not been able to iron out their difference on several key chapters (see EUROPE 10931). On Wednesday, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström will assess with India's Minister for Trade Nirmala Sitharaman how to relaunch this process.
Initially, the EU and India wanted to boost a trade relationship which saw trade in goods double in a decade to reach over €80 billion in 2011, but fall again to €72.5 billion in 2014 (including €35.5 billion in exports for the EU). Their trade in services also saw a slight fall, from €24.3 billion in 2012 to €22.4 billion in 2014 (including €11.8 billion in exports for the EU). As regards foreign direct investment (FDI), the EU's FDI in India stood at €34.7 billion at the end of 2013, while that of India in the EU was €9 billion.
Partnership on migration, water and climate. On the economic level, the summit discussions will focus on the strategic EU-India partnership launched in 2004 and the agenda until 2020 which will define the priority actions for the next five years.
Given the current migration crises in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, the issue of migration will also have a central place. The EU and India will hail the establishment of a joint programme on migration and mobility, which will cover legal migration, illegal migration, international protection and migration-linked development issues.
The leaders of the EU and India will also adopt statements on partnerships in two key areas - water, and energy and climate. In addition, the summit should enable cooperation to be enhanced on counter-terrorism, research and innovation, the digital market and human rights.
As regards foreign policy, the summit - to be attended also by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on the European side - will enable an assessment of the latest developments in the neighbourhoods of the EU and India, including Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea and Nepal.
The parties will also discuss global challenges and will reaffirm the key role of the G20 for achieving strong world growth. They are also expected to agree to open a dialogue on full and complete implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)