A trade agreement between the EU and India is a good idea, provided it respects European standards and values, says the European Parliament. MEPs adopted by 482 votes to 51 with 40 abstentions the own-initiative report by Geert Bourgeois (ECR, Belgium) on EU-India cooperation on trade and investment on Tuesday 5 July.
In the text, MEPs say that the future trade agreement (see EUROPE 12974/5) should contain “strong” guarantees on respect for the environment and human rights. They call on the Indian government to present a roadmap for the ratification of two core International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions: the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (No 87) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (No 98).
The future agreement should also be in line with the Green Deal, the Farm to Fork strategy and the conclusions of COP26, according to the European Parliament.
Market access problems for European companies in India should be resolved quickly, say MEPs, who encourage India to remove technical barriers to trade.
On security issues, MEPs also believe that close cooperation between New Delhi and the EU is desirable. In contrast, they regret “India’s hesitancy to condemn the Russian Federation’s military aggression against Ukraine”.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/2hj (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)