INDO - EU SUMMIT 2021
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INDIA-EU MEETING GIVES NEW PUSH TO TIES The summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 27 EU leaders was a special privilege accorded to India in order to underline a new sense of urgency in the EU to get its India policy right…. Writes Manoj Menon
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partnership high on vision and its foreign policy priorities; a renewed momen- sides with new opportunities to move forward optics was kicked off earlier this tum in India-EU ties is the need of the hour. on this long-stalled agenda. month when India and the EuCurrent circumstances provide the two The EU wants to pivot away from China. ropean Union announced the resumption of talks for a free trade agreement. The virtual huddle between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all the 27 EU leaders as well as presidents of the European Council and the European Commission was in itself an epoch-making event. Apart from outcomes, the symbolic value of such meeting cannot be underestimated. The EU rarely meets foreign leaders in this format. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission described it not only a historic and landmark summit, but also a remarkable, outstanding and extraordinary meeting. This was a special privilege accorded to the Indian PM to underline a new sense of urgency in the EU to get its India policy right. From New Delhi’s perspective, this is also an inflection point in the way it is thinking about
It recently signed a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China, which has drawn a lot of flak and its ratification has now been suspended because of diplomatic tensions. Apart from reaffirming broader issues agreed during earlier summits and announced under Roadmap 2025 last year, the major outcomes of the meeting between Modi and EU leaders include resumption of FTA negotiations, connectivity partnership, artificial intelligence task force and a joint working group on resilient supply chains. Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs Vikas Swarup said the two sides agreed to resume negotiations for a balanced and comprehensive free trade and investment agreements and that talks on both the pacts will be pursued on parallel tracks with an intention to achieve early conclusion of both of them. The negotiations for the ambitious free trade agreement, launched in 2007, were suspended in 2013 amid disagreements over cru-
fb.com/asianlite @asianlitemedia cial issues, including tariff rules and market access. A joint statement said both sides agreed to start negotiations on a separate agreement on geographical indications which could be concluded separately or integrated into the trade pact, depending on the pace of talks. Swarup said the connectivity partnership reflected the ambition of both sides to build on their synergies and pursue sustainable joint projects in third countries, most notably in the Africa, Central Asia and Indo-Pacific region. He said the leaders underlined their commitment to a free, open, inclusive and rulesbased Indo-Pacific and discussed the new avenues of cooperation in the region. “It is a watershed moment in the India-EU strategic partnership. It is a culmination of India’s efforts to enhance its ties with the EU and its member states in recent years,” Swarup said. EYE ON TRADE On trade, the joint statement said the HighLevel Dialogue on Trade and Investment has been tasked to ensure progress on market access issues and supervise negotiations, as well as keep progress on cooperation on regulatory aspects and resilient value chains under review “We confirmed the potential and need for swift engagement in areas where both sides shared interest to deepen economic cooperation. To this end, we agreed to create a joint working group to intensify regulatory cooperation on goods and services, including but not limited to the green and digital technologies,” it said. The EU is India’s third largest trading partner, accounting for €62,8 billion worth of trade in goods in 2020 or 11.1% of total Indian trade, after China (12%) and the US (11.7%). The EU is the second-largest destination for Indian exports (14% of the total) after the USA. The EU’s website says that it wants an agreement that is “economically meaningful, delivering real new market openings in all sectors to both sides, contains a solid rules-based component, and includes a comprehensive trade and sustainable development chapter, notably to deal with social and environmental impacts.” This is tough, demanding language that seeks to lay down EU’s terms of engagement.
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The website contains strictures against India’s trade regime, regulatory environment, technical barriers, deviation from international standards and agreements, and discriminatory legislative and administrative measures. The EU has issues of fair market access and full respect of WTO obligations with India. All this has relevance to the India-EU Leaders summit that took place on May 8. India and the EU began negotiations on a broad-based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) in 2007. Today, the two sides are no longer looking at a single Trade and Investment Agreement; they will negotiate the two agreements concurrently but separately, which means the objective is no longer a BTIA. This should theoretically make the negotiation process easier to handle. The agreement on Geographic Indicators will also be negotiated separately and included in the FTA, if concluded on time. Apparently, a lot of technical work has already been done prior to the summit, including political-level discussions between Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and the EU Executive Vice-President and Commissioner of Trade Valdis Dombrovskis, with the first meeting of the EU-India High Level Dialogue on Trade and Investment held in February this year wherein it was agreed that negotiations for an ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement will begin once the respective
approaches and positions are close enough. It may take some time for actual trade negotiations to restart. Technically, resumption means both parties will resume talks from the point they disengaged in 2013. However, Brexit and the economic impact of the pandemic may push both parties to rework their earlier strategies. As conclusion of negotiations may take a few more years, both have agreed to start parallel negotiations on stand-alone agreements on investment protection and geographical indicators. With close to $100 billion investment from its 27 member states, the EU is one of the largest investors in India. Similarly, many Indian companies have also invested in the EU. In the last few years, New Delhi terminated Bilateral Investment Treaties with large number of countries, including 21 EU member states. It is hoped that an early investment protection agreement may remove uncertainty among EU investors. Some of the market access issues could also be negotiated under this deal. As the EU has recently signed a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China, a similar agreement with India can balance debates in European institutions. The EU-China deal took seven years to negotiate. Since India is liberalising FDI rules, it can be concluded early.
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Negotiations are also proposed for an agreement on geographical indicators (GI). This was also part of comprehensive negotiations earlier. The EU and China have signed a similar agreement recently. For the EU, this is important for wines, spirits and agri-food products. About 100 EU GIs protected in China include Cava, Champagne, Feta, Irish whiskey, Münchener Bier, Polska Vodka, etc. SUPPLY CHAINS AND CONNECTIVITY The two sides also agreed to set up a joint working group on resilient supply chains, building inter alia on the experience they have gained from the Covid-19 pandemic. Referring to the connectivity partnership, the statement said it upholds international law, conforms with international norms and affirms the shared values of democracy, freedom, rule of law and respect for international commitments. “Our partnership will promote a transparent, viable, inclusive, sustainable, comprehensive, and rules-based connectivity. It is based on principles of social, economic, fiscal, climate and environmental sustainability and a level playing field for economic operators,” it said. The connectivity partnership is likely to expand digital, energy, physical and people-topeople connections between Europe and India. It will help infrastructure projects within India and its neighbourhood. It could also be extended to Africa, Central Asia and the Indo-Pacific. This is broadly based on 2019 EU-Asia connectivity strategy and EU-Japan connectivity partnership. Some may like to project it as a counter to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Unlike the BRI, this partnership will mainly rely on multilateral and private sector finance. This collaboration can be further linked with evolving EU strategy on the Indo-Pacific and India- Japan initiative on Asia-Africa Growth Corridor. As India has become global epicentre of the pandemic, 20 EU countries have sent oxygen, medical equipment and drugs worth $120 million in the last few days. But India is looking EU support much beyond immediate humanitarian aid. Despite the United States backing for temporary patent waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, the EU is still sceptical to the India-South Africa proposal at the WTO. The EU may need to look at the proposal as part of its development policy rather than its industrial strategy.
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INDIA, EU TO FUEL TRADE TIES
Mr Piyush Goyal, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister, says India and EU will strive for early conclusion of trade agreements
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ndia and the European Union (EU) are committed to work towards a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said. Addressing the closing session of CII: EUIndia Business Roundtable on Saturday, Goyal welcomed the landmark announcement made by leaders of India and EU on the resumption of negotiations for bilateral Free Trade and Investment Agreements. He hoped for an early conclusion of the trade agreement and an investment protection agreement on a parallel track. The Indian Commerce and Industry Minister said that India and the European Union were committed to work towards a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement and a separate investment protection agreement on a parallel track. “Together, we shall strive for early conclusion of both the agreements simultaneously,” he remarked. “Both these agreements are going to lift our economic relationship to another level with an enhanced bilateral flow of trade, investments, job creation, technology transfers and innovations. These will be separate agreements and negotiated in a parallel track.
INDIA ENTERS $3-TRILLION CLUB
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ndia pips Germany into $3-trillion market capitalisation clubIndia has piped European powerhouse Germany into the $3-trillion market capitalisation club. The Indian domestic market on Monday joined the UK, France and Canada in the $3-trillion m-cap club. The development comes even as the country is battling the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic signaling the strong economic preparation of the country. According to a Business Standard report, India currently ranks eighth on the table of most-valued equity markets, ahead of Ger-
many which has a market cap of $2.8 trillion. In the past, Germany and India had tussled for the eight positions. Given the outperformance in European equities, Germany too could join the club soon. The DAX, a gauge for the performance of the largest companies listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange, is up 13% this year outperforming the Sensex which is up 6%. Earlier, in December last year, India climbed two notches to take the eighth spot among the world’s top stock markets as the country crossed the $2.5 trillion market capitalization mark for the first time. @C India News Network
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We are also committed to concluding them together at an early date,” stated the Minister. Noting that India had received the highest ever Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in its history, despite COVID-19, even while investments worldwide fell down, he reasoned that investments are protected in India. “We have a very strong judiciary and respect for rule of law, transparency in all decision making, political stability, IPR protection. There is no compulsion for any company to do technology transfer in India,” he explained. “We are actively working towards improvement in our ease of doing business rankings, in our competitiveness, de-bureaucratising systems and making procedures simpler, opening up newer sectors for more FDI, strengthening regulatory practices,” the Minister of Commerce and Industry added. As the world moves to realign from the over-concentrated and risky supply chain, all business friends can trust India to provide a multitude of Investment and manufacturing opportunities, Goyal assured. Highlighting that India’s manpower skills
and talent have contributed to businesses around the world, the Minister argued that India can become a natural manufacturing base to make the products from European innovation, competitive in the world. “With the large Indian market of more than 1 billion people aspiring for a better quality of life and using economies of scale to expand the footprint of European goods in the world, this is a win-win partnership,” he said. On the concept of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Goyal said that it does not mean being protectionist and closing our doors to the world. On the contrary, India wishes to open its doors wider and warmly welcomes businesses from across the world to bring world class technologies to India, state-of-the-art products and services into India and investments in manufacturing, services & infrastructure, he clarified. Negotiations on both the Trade and Investment Agreements that remained suspended since 2013 will be pursued on parallel tracks with an intention to achieve early conclusion of both of them.
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INDIA, EU TO RESUME FTA TALKS AFTER 8 YEARS
The India-EU Leaders’ Meeting is being seen as an important opportunity to provide renewed momentum to the multi-faceted India-EU relationship, reports Naveen Kapoor
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ndia and the European Union will resume negotiations on free trade agreeent (FTA) after a gap ment off eight years. The talks ere suspended in 2013 were nd restarting of neand otiations will gotiations bee a key delivable of Inerable a-EU sumdia-EU it on May 8 mit in which for thee first time rime MinisPrime terr Narendra Modi will be eeting leadmeeting erss of 27 memer states tober ether. gether. PM Modi ill join the will eet virtually meet as a special intee after the vitee vitation of invitation thee President off the Euroean Counpean l, Charles cil, ichel. Michel. It had een decided been to hold the ummit in a summit rtual forvirtual at in view of mat thee prevailing OVID-19 sitCOVID-19 ation. Portugal uation. rime Minister Prime ntonio Costa Antonio ill also attend will meeting thee hich is exwhich ected to last pected forr two hours. here will be a There
joint statement also. The India-EU faceted India-EU relationship. Leaders’ Meeting is being seen as EU officials feel that they will be able an important opportunity iron out differences in trade negotiations to provide renewed moand will be able to address the irrimentum to the multitants, seeing the current positive momentum in ties. EU official sources told ANI that talks were suspended in 2013 and since then, talks are going on and off but “it is only now that we are seeing positive momentum in our relations that we can say that we are actually resuming the talks formally”. “This is part of package that will comprise of talks towards an agreement regarding geographical indications and also investment protection agreement which will Europeanize the arrangement that India has with Individual member states so far,” a source said. “I can confirm that talks that we are resuming with India will be comprehensive. These will cover all areas of trade. We are not looking at an early harvest. We are looking at full and ambitious
and v very comprehensive set of negotiations, tions,” another EU official added. Eu European Union is India’s largest trading p partner and one of the largest sources of FD FDI in the country. Th The sources said they will also look at exi existing trade irritants between EU and India India. “W “We believe that in the current atmosphere of the very positive momentum, we can m make progress on these longstanding irritan irritants we are all very much aware of. W We are talking about resumption of negot negotiations. Of course the existing issues will be there but we are confident that n new momentum between our two regions will pave the way for positive result of the these negotiations. We, of course, very much welcome this,” the source said. EU officials see India-EU summit as a meeti meeting between two natural partners and betwe between the world’s largest democracies. “E “EU is India’s largest trading partner, larges largest foreign investor. If we look at the size of respective econo economies, I think there is huge potential to create more trade, growth and jobs which will be particularly important for Europ European Union and India for recovery again against the fallout of pandemic,” the EU sourc source added. Th The India-EU Leaders’ Meeting will be th the first meeting in the EU+27 format and rreflects the shared ambition of both sides for further strengthening the IndiaEU S Strategic Partnership. It is a significant political milestone and w will further build on the momentum w witnessed in the relationship since the 1 15th India-EU Summit in July 2020. (ANI (ANI)
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Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi
FRANCE BACKS INDIA AGAINST CHINA
The French ofϔicial who was in India to lead a delegation for a strategic dialogue with the National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, tick marked several topics of common strategic concern between India and France in the region, following China’s muscle ϔlexing…reports Ranjit Kumar
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tamil Nadu’s Mahabalipuram
mid simmering military tensions between India and China over Ladakh, France has slammed Beijing, pointing out that Paris supports New Delhis security concerns including Kashmir. “Whether it be on Kashmir, we’ve been supportive of India in the security concern. We haven’t let the Chinese play any kind of procedural games. When it comes to the Himalayas, check our statements, they are perfectly clear. What we say publicly, we say it to the Chinese privately. There is no ambiguity,” he said while speaking at a New Delhi event on Thursday. Bonne, who is a diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, also stressed that Paris and New Delhi needed to work together in the IndoPacific -- an area where China has been making steady inroads. The French official who was in India
to lead a delegation for a strategic dialogue with the National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, tick marked several topics of common strategic concern between India and France in the region, following China’s muscle flexing. The Hindustan Times had earlier reported that the laundry list of topics included the setting up of a 10,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in Maharashtra, and construction of the six diesel-electric submarines under project P-75I for the Indian Navy. The daily pointed out that France has been one of India’s most reliable partners in Europe for years but the two countries had inched closer over the last few years that led to a deal to buy 36 Rafale aircraft. Paris has now offered to shift 100 per cent assembly line for Panther medium utility helicopters as well as 70 per cent of the assembly line for Rafale fighters
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Modi and Macron at the inauguration of the Solar Power Plant in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh
under “Make in India” rubric with full transfer of technology. When French defence minister Florence Parly was in India last year in context of the induction of the omni-role fighter jets in the Indian Air Force, she and defence minister Rajnath Singh had agreed to stick to the Rafale template of government-to-government deals for future defence purchases. Regarding China, while India has its security concerns along the border, the French are also wary of China’s moves in New Caledonia -- a French island territory in the Pacific Ocean. The former penal colony, which is reliant on Paris for about US$1.5 billion in funding annually, has an agreement with France for up to three referendums -each held two years apart -- on the question of independence. In the first poll in 2018, close to 57 per cent of voters chose to stay with France. In the second referendum held last year, more than 53 per cent chose to stay with France. Analysts say that China is eyeing the territory, which has large reserves of nickel. Consequently, Macron is keen that in order to safeguard the territory, France partners with the Indo-Pacific Quad, comprising India, Japan, Australia and the United States. During the 2018 independence referendum, Macron had warned that China was “building its hegemony step by step a hegemony which will reduce our freedom, our opportunities” in the Pacific. During a visit to New Caledonia in that year, Macron stopped in Australia where he proposed the “Paris-DelhiCanberra axis,” which, he said was “ab-
solutely key for the region and our joint objectives in the Indo-Pacific”. Paris is also keen that New Caledonia becomes part of new supply chains that exclude China. The visiting French official is reported to have assured Doval of all material and moral support to help
India counter the Chinese military advances along the Line of Actual Control, on the icy heights of Ladakh. India and France, operating from Reunion Island, also have shared strategic interests in the Indian Ocean. During the New Delhi-Paris strategic dialogue,
the two sides decided to work together on a shared agenda at the UN Security Council, where India has been elected as a non-permanent member for two years. India’s tenure at the Security Council formally began on Monday with a flag installation ceremony.
Indian Army chief reviews security arrangements in Valley
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INDIANS IN GERMANY OFFER HELP
From oxygen to medical supplies, a helping hand from Germany’s Indian diaspora … reports Shankar Kumar from Berlin
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s India struggles with the second wave of the the group started contacting German companies, NGOs and Covid-19 pandemic, Barjinder Sodhi is desper- individuals who can stand by India at a time of massive crisis. ately trying to do his part for the country he Regarded highly among the Indian diaspora for her helping atleft 37 years ago. He doesn’t want Indians to die titude, Neena, who left India three decades ago, sent emails for want of oxygen or medicine. Sodhi, 59, who moved to individually to German business leaders and non-profit groups Germany from Amritsar in Punjab, is feverishly contacting asking them to help suffering Indians with oxygen cylinders, German politicians and companies to provide India medical oxygen concentrators and ambulances. assistance like oxygen concentrators and cylinders. She didn’t stop at that. In her online magazine portal, www. With India in the midst of a pandemic-triggered catastro- indienaktuell.de which she launched in 2003 in cooperation phe, counting over 3,000 Covid-19 related deaths daily, and with her husband Alexander Hartmann, she put up a special with oxygen and other medical supplies running out, Sodhi has section: ‘Help for India, how can I donate’? come forward to help his country of origin cope with its once“Many people try their own to ship their donations within-a-century crisis. out knowing whether their consignments will reach the rightful “India is deep in crisis and it is time we have to help it. We place or not,” Neena said. Her portal, which is popular among have contacted more than 40 companies saying ‘please help Germans as well as Indian diaspora, presents a list of guidewith whatever you can’—with concentrators, ventilators, oxy- lines for donations, shipments of medical goods and medicines gen and PPE,” Sodhi who runs a restaurant in Berlin, told Indi- and who should be contacted for what purposes in detail. She anewsnetwork.com. claims this has to a large extent eased her job of helping India On his own, he managed to send 150 oxygen concentrators in need. to India when the second wave of coronavirus was pulverizYet, challenges don’t come knocking at one’s door. They ing the country’s healthcare system. The sudden spike in cases come suddenly and like the virus, whisk away many happy peofrom the third week of April had fuelled demands for hospi- ple and families to the alleys of immeasurable sorrow and suftal beds, oxygen and medicines. es. Reports of the mounting ferings. This is what has hur hurt Indian diaspora in Germany death toll due to the virus weree doing the rounds in sodeeply and they want to address the situation without cial media and making headlines nes in the national and any delay international media. Neena, who claims that “her heart bleeds for In“As an Indian diaspora, I was in utter shock. dia,” is working hard to see that immediate and longMessages on Indian social media edia about deterioratterm needs of people ba back in India are met. Through ing health conditions were making king me restless and her portal and social media tools, she encourages it was then, I decided to rush h medical help to people to contribute, contribut whatever they can, for the India. I immediately managed d 150 concenvictims of the ccoronavirus in India. trators and sent them to Delhi for hosHer portal www.indienaktuell.de p pitals,” Sodhi, who is also popular opular is suppor supporting the cause of Frankfurtamong German politicians, said. id. based Deutsch-Indische ZusamLike Sodhi, thousands of dimenarbeit menarb e. V. (an NGO) which is aspora members spread across oss working with 25 Indian partners worki Germany are trying to do whatatactive activ in urban slums and rural arever they can for their country try eas in India, where they support of origin. students whose parents have lost stud Neena Shukla Hartmann nn their the jobs due to the crisis. They of Prexma Consulting, a Ger-are also involved in building many-based public relations,, hospitals. ho marketing, exhibition and d The portal is also supportevent management company, y, ing the cause of another NGO swung into action and launched hed called, Andheri-Freundeskreis call SOS PROCUREMENT, a volunolune.V, Rheinau. She said most reR tary procurement group for medicare cently, a request came from a Gerproducts for hospitals in the current urrent and man initiative to help migrant workers initiat the post Covid-19 scenario in India. in Chennai. As per her, various diaspora Backed by dynamic and enthusiorganizations in Germany have collected astic Indian origin people like ke Daniel more than 100,000 Euros for Covid relief 10 Raja and more than 30 others,, includin India. Barjinder Sodhi ing German and Turkish nationals, ationals, However, However one should learn from peo-
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Neena Shukla Hartmann
ple like Pallavi Mishra who work behind the scenes, away from the glare of the media. Full of energy and drive, she is putting in her best efforts to make quality medical supplies from Germany available to India. FICCI, being represented by her in Germany, in association with BVMW (German Association of Small and Medium sized Enterprises) has procured 1500 oxygen concentrators for private entities in the Indian health care industry. In any such exercise, dedication, hard work and patience are also required, said Daniel Raja of BVMW. “We are sparing no effort to give India its due from us. When a hospital or organization in India approaches us for essential medical goods like oxygen concentrators, we voluntarily help them connect with distributors of oxygen concentrators, medical goods in Germany. We are also helping them in shipment and custom clearances and all this voluntarily,” Raja, a member of the Indian diaspora born and brought up in Germany, said. When India is in dire straits with both human life and economy bearing the brunt of the catastrophic second wave of the coronavirus, the country requires not just material support from its diaspora but also wants to see that overseas Indians become a stepping stone for the country’s dream of becoming a powerful nation of the world.
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