The first meeting of the EU/India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) will take place on Tuesday 16 May in Brussels. EU Commissioners Valdis Dombrovskis, Margrethe Vestager and the Union’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, will represent the EU, while the Indian delegation will consist of External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Indian Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
On this occasion, the attendees are expected to adopt a joint statement setting out, inter alia, guidelines for the three TTC working groups. The European Commission is responsible for proposing a common text, and has already presented several drafts (see EUROPE 13174/19).
The Permanent Representatives of the EU Member States discussed the issue twice, on 10 and 12 May, but did not have the opportunity to approve the text, which still needs to be validated by New Delhi.
According to two European sources, India has asked, in particular, to include in the text of the declaration elements on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a European instrument that raises concerns for the Indians. In a version released on 10 May by the European Commission and seen by EUROPE, no mention was made of CBAM. However, the Commission was open to the possibility of adding a passage on this subject in the text, which it must however negotiate with India, according to a source.
Enhanced cooperation on semiconductors
The joint statement should, in any case, refer to a memorandum of understanding on semiconductors: “The two sides will coordinate their policies on strategic semiconductor sectors, with the aim of concluding a memorandum of understanding (MOU) by September 2023” it says in the document, which was circulated on 10 May.
More generally, the declaration now describes both partners as “open market economies and pluralistic societies”. These elements of description were not included in the first version of the European Commission.
The text of the declaration could return to the table of the Permanent Representatives of the Member States on Monday 15 May, who are due to meet again, according to two European sources. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)