New Delhi: A meeting of the top leadership of India and the European Union (EU) on Friday is expected to give fresh impetus to efforts to seal an ambitious free trade agreement (FTA), especially against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s threat to hit the 27-member bloc with 25% tariffs.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in New Delhi on Thursday, and will be joined by 20 members of the EU’s 27-strong College of Commissioners for meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of his cabinet, including external affairs minister S Jaishankar, commerce minister Piyush Goyal and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This is the first visit by the College of Commissioners to India.
“In an era of conflicts and intense competition, you need trusted friends. For Europe, India is such a friend and a strategic ally. I’ll discuss with @narendramodi how to take our strategic partnership to the next level,” Von der Leyen said on X soon after she was received at Delhi airport by minister of state Anupriya Patel.
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Von der Leyen’s comments came hours after Trump said he planned to hit goods made in the EU with 25% tariffs and claimed the bloc was created to “screw the United States”. At an appearance with members of his cabinet, Trump said: “We’ll be announcing it very soon…It’ll be 25% generally speaking and that will be on cars and all other things.”
The EU said it would react “firmly and immediately against unjustified tariffs”.
Efforts to spur negotiations for the India-EU FTA, which resumed in 2022 after a hiatus of almost a decade, will figure at the meeting between Modi and Von der Leyen, an official of the external affairs ministry said. Boosting cooperation in key areas such as technology, defence and security, space, green energy and climate action will be in focus at meetings to be held by the EU commissioners with their Indian counterparts.
The second ministerial meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), a body established in 2022 to oversee cooperation in digital and strategic technologies, green technologies, and trade, investments and resilient supply chains, will be held on Friday. The Indian side will be represented by Jaishankar, Goyal and electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Collaboration on telecommunications, 6G, artificial intelligence and semiconductors are among the matters that are expected to figure in the TTC meeting, the official said. He emphasised the importance of this body by noting that the EU has so far established a TTC with only two countries, India and the US.
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“This is a very important partnership for both sides,” the official said. “Cooperation has intensified and there is a positive intent to work towards concrete outcomes.”
Defence and security cooperation, especially greater coordination between the Indian Navy and navies of EU member states in regions such as the Red Sea and the holding of joint exercises, has emerged as another important pillar of the partnership, the official said. The two sides are also discussing a proposed agreement on the security of information, which would allow India to participate in EU-led defence projects, he said.
As part of efforts to bolster defence ties, the EU will depute a liaison officer at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR). The centre was established in Gurugram in 2018 to keep track of shipping and critical developments in the region along with like-minded countries.
Von der Leyen began her visit by paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial at Rajghat. After meeting Von der Leyen on Thursday evening, Jaishankar said on X: “Appreciate her thoughts on reenergising India’s engagement with Europe. The wide-ranging participation of Indian Ministers and EU College of Commissioners during this visit stands testimony to the importance we place on deeper India-EU ties.”
A senior EU official said Von der Leyen’s visit will help forge a new strategic agenda for the relationship with India, including trade, investment, technology, digitalisation and connectivity.
While the EU side es expected to bring up the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the enforcement of the bloc’s sanctions related to trade with Russia, including sensitive technologies, the Indian official said New Delhi had made it very clear that a solution can only be found by bringing Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table.
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“As for sanctions, we aren’t violating UN sanctions or any multilateral regimes. We are open to discussion with the EU on this issue and have sought more details,” the official said, referring to the EU slapping sanctions on five Indian entities for supplying sensitive technologies and components to Russia.
The EU is India’s largest trading partner in goods, with trade increasing 90% in the past decade. Two-way trade in goods was worth $135 billion in 2023-24, with Indian exports valued at $76 billion. Bilateral trade in services was worth $53 billion in the same period, including Indian exports of $30 billion.
India’s cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from EU from April 2000 to September 2024 totalled $117.4 billion and represented 16.6% of the total FDI equity inflows from all countries. India’s FDI outflows to the EU were worth $40.04 billion from April 2000 to March 2024.