EU Ambassador in India Herve Delphin
The 13th round of negotiations in India-EU for a free trade agreement (ALE) this month was a missed opportunity, but the EU remains determined to conclude a “significant package” by the end of this year, said the EU ambassador to India Herve Delphin. India and the EU will hold another series of Ale talks in Brussels on October 6, hoping to close several chapters that the two parties could not in the last round here. Delphin’s remarks confirm that there are persistent problems that the two parties must resolve to be able to respect the end of year deadline. EU’s commerce commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, who visited India this month, said that he expected more progress in the last round. In addition, the German ambassador to Philipp Ackermann India told you last week that the 13th round was good but not good enough, while expressing the confidence that India and the EU will go to the closure of more chapters in the next round. Before the 13th round, only 12 of the 24 chapters, including SMEs, transparency, settlement of disputes and customs and the facilitation of exchanges – had been closed.
Survey
Should India prioritize the expansion of its links with the EU on its relations with Russia?
“The 13th round earlier in September was an opportunity to make a breakthrough. The EU was and is always ready to conclude on a significant package. We are impatiently awaiting India to engage seriously and moving, as the EU has shown a disposition to make, towards a mutually beneficial offer against the back of Delphin, addressing an event which explained the path to follow in India-EU against the back of the background of the global disorder.Delphin has said that the EU and India have important strategic options to “deactivate economic disorders and safety uncertainties, to exploit our complementarities and combine the respective forces and the scale to serve the interests of the other”. The EU pushes towards the strategic and the own of India, as Delphin said, the strategic enigma in the form of challenges posed by the United States, China and Russia has forced both parties to diversify their partnerships. However, India’s energy ties with Russia, as the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, this month remains an obstacle to progress in India. For its part, India wants the EU to flee “double standard” on the issue of Russian oil, the MEA reminiscent of the EU last week of the remarks of President Donald Trump urging Europe not to buy Russian energy. Delphin said it is up to India to reflect on how he can squarely his position on Russia, a strategic partner, with his support for peace and his desire to improve links with the EU. In addition to its energy links with Russia, India’s participation in the military exercise of Russia-Bélarus ZAPAD-2025 was also faced with disapproval in Europe. “We must also be clear about the issues on which we are not aligned … There is a question of Russia – specifically linked to its war of aggression against Ukraine and its hostile attitude towards the last weeks and days and the violation of European air space by Russian drones,” said Delphin. “India has spoken for peace. Russia is a strategic partner for India. And India wants to deepen its links with the EU.
About The Author
