INDIA – EUROPEAN UNION
Current Relations
- Economic Relations
- Bilateral Trade: Reached €80 billion in 2019, accounting for 11.1% of India’s total trade.
- Trade Relations:
- EU is India’s largest trading partner.
- India benefits from the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP).
- FDI: The EU is the largest investor in India, with €67.7 billion invested in 2018, accounting for 22% of total FDI inflows.
- Business Presence: Over 6,000 EU companies in India support 1.7 million direct jobs and 5 million indirect jobs.
- Vaccine Waiver Support: The EU supported India’s proposal at the WTO for a temporary waiver on COVID-19 vaccine patents.
- COVID-19 Aid: The EU supplied medical aid to India during the COVID-19 crisis.
- FTA Negotiations: Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks have resumed in 2022.
- Strategic Relations
- Multipolar Advocacy: Both India and the EU support a multipolar world.
- Filling Leadership Gaps: The EU-India partnership gains importance amid the U.S.’s changing global role.
- Indian Ocean Convergence: Both share interests in the Indo-Pacific, specifically regarding trade and energy security.
- Nuclear Cooperation: Recent agreement on “Civil nuclear cooperation.”
- Security Cooperation
- Information Fusion Centre (IFC-IOR): Linked with the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (MSC-HOA) under the EU Naval Force (NAVFOR).
- Collaboration for Intelligence: CBI & Europol partnership for intelligence sharing.
- Maritime Security Dialogue: India and the EU held their first maritime security dialogue virtually on January 20, 2021.
- Cultural / People-to-People Exchanges
- Approximately 50,000 Indian students in European universities.
- Many Indian students receive Erasmus Mundus scholarships for higher education in the EU.
- EuropaIndia Festival: Enhances cultural ties.
- Promotion of Indian heritage such as Yoga, Ayurveda, and Sanskrit language in Europe.
- Horizontal Agreement on Civil Aviation: Aims to boost travel and tourism.
- Environmental / Scientific and Technological Cooperation
- MYC Program: Mobilize Your City program supported by the EU for sustainable urban development in India.
- EU-India Clean Energy Cooperation and EU-India Water Forum.
- India-EU Joint Working Group on sustainable digital infrastructure.
- Annual meetings of the India-EU Science and Technology Steering Committee.
Importance/Benefits of India-EU Relations
- Economic Importance
- Pending FTA: Potential to enhance India’s market penetration.
- Immigration: Opportunities for Indian professionals as the EU faces skill shortages.
- Technology Transfer: In critical sectors such as energy, climate change, and innovation.
- Multi-Sectoral Cooperation: Focus on education, environmental sustainability, and digital innovation.
- Strategic Importance
- Strategic Partnership Roadmap: “India-EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025.”
- Civil Nuclear Agreement: Supports India’s energy security.
- Maritime Security: Collaboration between the Indian Navy and the European Union Naval Force for counter-piracy operations.
- Counter-Terrorism: Joint efforts to combat terrorism and radicalization.
Concerns in India-EU Relations
- Economic Concerns
- Stalled BTIA: Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement.
- Trade Deficit: India represents only 1.9% of EU total trade.
- Phytosanitary Barriers: Impacting Indian exports due to stringent EU standards.
- Strategic Concerns
- Brexit Implications: Potential unpredictability in policy.
- EU Criticism: On India’s internal policies, including CAA and Kashmir’s status.
- Division within EU: Different stances among EU members regarding India’s position on China.
Notable Quotes
- PM Modi stated, “India and the EU are natural partners. Our partnership is also useful for peace and stability in the world. This reality has become even clearer in today’s global situation.”
India-EU relations have huge potential especially now when the world becomes more critical of China’s trade policies, thus it becomes imperative for both sides to resolve pending issues especially regarding the stalled Free trade agreements.