Brussels, 28/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - After ASEAN and South Korea early May, India is the third partner with which the Union began talks, on Thursday in Brussels, for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA). The first two-day negotiating session aims to allow partners to agree on a roadmap for the rest of the work. Three or four other discussion sessions will be held before the end of the year. The Union's top priority in these talks is to obtain a substantial reduction of India's non-tariff barriers that penalise European exporters. With consolidated tariffs of 28.3% on average - and applied tariffs of around 7.5%, to be discussed - India maintains its customs duties at a high level compared to those practised by other Asian economies. The Union will also seek to obtain transparency and non-discrimination of Indian rules on access to public procurement markets to the benefit of European companies that hope to take advantage of the major projects launched for modernising infrastructures in India. New Delhi is expected for its part to make the opening of its market conditional upon European concessions on standards and mutual recognition of products, in particular in the phytosanitary, food and pharmaceutical sectors. It should also defend free entry (temporary, under services contracts) to the Community market for its workers qualified in the field of high-tech services. The complexity of the federal structure and the weight of red tape in India as well as the differences between the Union and India regarding standards and regulations may make discussions last beyond the two-year timeframe that parties had envisaged for concluding a FTA. (eh)