India celebrates Republic Day every year on January 26, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President António Costa were invited as guests of honor.
Von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged in February to conclude the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of the year – something they themselves acknowledged was an ambitious goal.
But a number of issues continue to block work, Šefčovič said, including India linking its objections to the EU’s proposed carbon border tax and its safeguard measures on steel with the EU’s own demand to reduce its tariffs on cars.
Šefčovič visited New Delhi again last week to try to remove major obstacles to concluding EU negotiations with the world’s most populous country.
“The ideal scenario would be, as we announced with Indonesia, that we complete the political negotiations on the FTA,” Šefčovič said. “That would be my ideal scenario, but we’re not there yet.”
The EU and Indonesia concluded their agreement in September.
“It’s extremely, extremely difficult,” he said, adding: “The political ambition of our president and our prime minister to achieve this this year was absolutely crucial for us to move forward.”
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