The European Union and India are currently negotiating a memorandum of understanding establishing a comprehensive framework for cooperation on mobility, according to a document dated Monday 12 January and obtained by Agence Europe. Intended to be finalised ahead of the EU-India summit scheduled for 27 January in New Delhi, the text aims to “promote economic growth alongside supporting the trade and investment framework”, and to“manage migration effectively in a comprehensive and coordinated manner”.
The memorandum provides for facilitating the mobility of three categories of people to the EU: highly qualified workers, students and researchers, and seasonal workers.
To put these commitments into practice, the EU wants to commit to setting up a “European Union Legal Gateway Office” in India, focusing initially on the information and communication technologies sector. This “single online entry point” will serve as a “resource hub”, designed to inform potential Indian candidates about legal channels for migration and to support their mobility towards the EU, with a pilot duration of around 26 months. The project had already been mentioned by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in June 2025 (see EUROPE 13665/16).
The document emphasises cooperation on migration management, notably in “countering irregular migration, migrant smuggling and human trafficking”. It formalises the willingness of the EU and India to “fully cooperate on return and readmission of irregular migrants”, including “on the identification of nationality by the competent authorities (...), on the timely issuance of travel documents and on readmission requests”. The two parties also intend to “explore the possibilities for negotiating a readmission agreement”.
These commitments are part of the EU’s strategy to deploy legal migration mechanisms with third countries. Pilot projects have already been launched with Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, notably as part of the THAMM programme (‘Towards a Holistic Approach to Labour Migration Governance and Labour Mobility in North Africa’), the aim of which is to facilitate the reception of skilled labour from North Africa in sectors in shortage in the EU. (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)