About 20 EU companies attended a fruitful roundtable discussion about the upcoming Free trade agreement between the EU and India, and eventual challenges, directly from the EU Chief negotiator, Mr. Christophe Kiener, held at the EU Delegation in New Delhi. The event was successfully replicated in Mumbai, on 16 February 2024, hosted at Deutsche Bank premises.

The overall ambition of the EU is to keep the European Union globally competitive, in view also of the intertwined geopolitical, political, security, and economic interests. In this context, India is considered an important long-term strategic partner for the EU, for ensuring peace and stability, and the EU and the India are engaged in a frequent high-level policy dialogue.

The negotiations encompass the main agreement on trade, a separate agreement that covers the protection of investment, as well as the third one focussing on protecting geographical indications.

Mr. Kiener outlined that the EU and India have conducted several rounds of negotiations and have yet to reach an agreement. While he stated that the EU is eager to reach a deal before the national elections, it appears that negotiations will continue until the new Indian government takes power following the May 2024 national elections.

Participants also acknowledged the strong feeling in India about certain policy instruments in India that put the latter into a rather defensive position towards market liberalisation. It is positively recognised that under the leadership of PM Modi, India is transforming into a major global player and manufacturing hub.

The EU Chief negotiator was thankful to the participants and underscored the needs for high quality inputs from EU industry to calibrate and have successful outcomes in the ongoing negotiations and, at a later stage, the implementation of the agreements. This is also one of the main reasons to have a private sector institution in form of the Federation for EU Business in India.