INDIA-EU RELATIONS

India-EU relations go back to the early 1960s. India was among the first countries to
establish diplomatic relations with the (then) European Economic Community (EEC).
The 1994 cooperation agreement signed between EU and India took bilateral relations
well beyond trade and economic cooperation. The 5th India-EU Summit at The Hague in
2004 endorsed the EU’s proposal to upgrade its relationship with India to a ‘Strategic
Partnership’. The two sides also adopted a Joint Action Plan in 2005 which provides for
Strengthening Dialogue and Consultation mechanisms; Deepening political dialogue and
cooperation; Bringing together People and Cultures; Enhancing Economic Policy
Dialogue and Cooperation; and Developing Trade and Investment.
VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA
Rashtrapatiji visited Strasbourg from 25-26 April 2007 at the invitation of the President
of the European Parliament (EP). During the visit, he addressed the Parliament and met
with the President of the European Parliament. Members of the India Delegation of the
EP, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner of enterprise and
Industry called on him. It was the first ever visit by a President of India to the EP.
POLITICAL DIALOGUE
India and the EU have held ten annual Summits to date. The 10th India-EU Summit was
held in New Delhi on 6 November 2009. India was represented by Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh and the EU was represented by Mr. Fredrik Reinfeldt, Prime Minister
of Sweden and European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso. The
Summit reviewed India-EU Relations and exchanged views on developments in India and
EU; recognized the need to pursue the reform of the principal UN bodies with a view to
enhancing the representativeness, transparency and effectiveness of the system; resolved
to jointly fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestation; took note of the signing of the
India-EU Agreement in the field of nuclear fusion energy research underlining the
importance of energy security and clean energy; agreed to work towards early conclusion
of the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement and the Maritime Agreement. The
leaders also identified trade and investment, energy, counter-terrorism, science and
technology, climate change, and movement of peoples and as priority areas of
cooperation.
India and the EU also interact regularly at the Foreign Ministers level. The 21st India-EU
Ministerial Meeting took place in New Delhi on 22 June 2010. External Affairs Minister
Shri S.M. Krishna led the Indian delegation. The EU side was led EU High
Representative Ms. Catherine Ashton. India-EU Relations, regional issues both around
Europe and India and global issues including climate change, terrorism, global financial
crisis and energy security were discussed at the Ministerial Meeting.
There is a regular mechanism of Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) between India and the
EU. Eighteen SOMs have been held till date.
PARLIAMENTARY INTERACTION
The European Parliament (EP) has established a India Delegation in the European
Parliament which has 20 members and 20 substitute in the delegation. Mr. Graham
Watson, British MEP is the current Chairperson and an EP India Delegation led by him
visited India at the end of April, 2010.
INDIA-EU BUSINESS LINKS
The EU, as a bloc of 27 countries, is India’s largest trading partner while India was EU’s
9th largest trading partner in 2009. EU-India trade has been growing steadily reaching €
52.9 billion in 2009 (2.3% of EU’s total trade). In 2009, India was the 10th largest
exporter to the EU and had a share of 2.1% in the total EU imports. On the other hand,
India was the 8th largest importer of EU’s products and had a share of 2.5 % in the EU’s
global exports. In 2009, total Indian exports to the EU in the different services sector was
7.5 billion euros whereas total Indian imports from the EU was worth 8.8 billion euros
The EU is one of the largest sources of FDI for India. However, the FDI inflows from the
EU to India declined from Euro 4.019 billion in 2007 to Euro 3.27 billion in 2008. India
has also emerged as a major investor in the EU countries with total investment from India
increasing from Euro 1.003 billion in the year 2007 to Euro 3.69 billion in 2008.
INSTITUTIONAL INTERACTIONS
India and the EU have held nine rounds of negotiations for a bilateral Broad-based Trade
and Investment Agreement. Negotiations commenced in 2007 and cover Trade in goods,
Sanitary & Phyto-sanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade, Trade in services,
Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Geographical Indications, Competition
Policy, Customs and Trade Facilitation, Trade Defence , Dispute Settlement). The India-
EU Joint Commission with its three sub-commission on trade, economic cooperation and
development cooperation meets annually. India and EU have Joint Working Groups on
Counter Terrorism, Consular Issues, Agriculture and Marine Products, Energy,
Environment, Technical Barriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Issues,
Textiles, Steel, Information Technology & Communications, Pharmaceuticals &
Biotechnology, Food Processing Industries and Customs Cooperation. Both sides also
have regular dialogues on Security, Human Rights, Macroeconomy and Science and
Technology.
BILATERAL AGREEMENTS
India and the EU have signed bilateral agreements which includes cooperation in the field
of Science & Technology in 2001 which was renewed in 2007; Joint Vision Statement
for promoting cooperation in the field of information and communications technology in
2001; customs cooperation agreement in 2004; Memorandum of Understanding on
Cooperation on Employment and Social Affairs in November 2006; Horizontal Civil
Aviation Agreement in 2008; Joint Declaration in field of Education in 2008; Joint
Declaration on Multilingualism in March 2009 and Agreement in the field of nuclear
fusion energy research in November 2009.