The European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, is meeting his Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal, in Brussels on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 January, less than three weeks before the EU-India summit.
The key issue at stake at this event, which could take place on 27 January, is the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement, the political conclusion of which has been postponed several times, after being relaunched in 2022 (see EUROPE 13708/26).
Without going into detail, a spokesman for the European Commission said that this meeting “will play a role in advancing the process of concluding this trade agreement, which we consider to be very important and significant”.
Despite the optimistic tone, there are still many stumbling blocks between the two partners on agricultural products, European cars, Indian steel and certain European climate regulations, such as the maintenance of the carbon tax at borders (CBAM) (EUROPE 13769/26).
Against a tense geopolitical backdrop, the two parties are also continuing negotiations to conclude a security and defence partnership.
The day before, in Paris, the French, German, Polish and Indian foreign ministers had welcomed the deepening of ties between the European Union and India. According to France’s Jean-Noël Barrot, the free trade agreement will mark “a decisive step in the strategic rapprochement between our two regions”. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)