- The best EU team goes to India for a two -day trip on Thursday.
- Almost all 26 EU commissioners must join the visit.
- The trade will have an outstanding place on the agenda, since the EU seeks to diversify the ties.
The best EU team is to embark on an “unprecedented” visit to India this week, since the block seeks to expand its commercial and diplomatic ties to protect against sour relations with the United States.
The EU Chief, Ursula Von der Leyen, and his University Commissioners must hold conversations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in New Delhi during a two -day trip, starting Thursday.
The trip is the last sign of an impulse of Brussels to diversify the ties of the United States and position itself as a reliable partner for others who seek to do business.
“In this era of intense geostrategic competence, Europe represents the openness, association and dissemination,” said Von der Leyen before the trip, welcoming India as one of the “most reliable friends and allies” in the EU.
Almost all 26 EU commissioners must join the 66 -year -old German politic who assumed the position. December.
It occurs when the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has overturned the traditionally narrow association of Brussels with Washington, rebuking the technological laws of the EU, threatening the tariffs and switching of European allies by launching Ukraine conversations with the Vladimir Putin de Russia.
The European Union has remained “Looking for friends” and India, the most populous country in the world, is a “natural candidate,” said Andre Sapir, of the group of experts based in Bruegas Bruegel.
Commercial call
Brussels has been working to expand its horizons since Trump won the White House in November.
In recent months he has announced a commercial agreement strengthened with Mexico, the resumption of conversations with Malaysia, a new agreement with the South America block and the “first” EU-Central Asia Summit of the EU.
He has also reached a more conciliatory note to China, which, however “remains a significant strategic challenge for Europe,” said James Crabtree, of the group of experts from the European Foreign Affairs Council (ECFR).
“Build stronger ties with India, a democracy with a growing global influence, offers a greater economic opportunity and political attraction,” he said.
The trade will be high on the agenda.
The EU is the largest commercial partner in India, which represents 124 billion euros ($ 130 billion) in trade of goods in 2023, more than 12% of the total trade in India, according to the EU.
The expansion market of India offers key opportunities for sectors ranging from defense to agriculture, cars and clean energy. However, protected by high rates, it currently represents only 2.2% of EU's goods.
The negotiations for a commercial agreement relaunched in 2022 and could obtain an impulse from a white house committed to slapping tariffs both friends and enemies, a European diplomat said.
“The case of a free trade agreement has never been stronger,” said the diplomat.
Ai and defense
Trump fattened Modi in Washington promising to increase trade this month, but India is also looking for renewed relationships in other places such as “coverage against a newly capricious America,” Crabtree said.
The European Commission's trip gets hard after a visit by the British Secretary of British Jonathan Reynolds aimed at restarting stagnant trade negotiations.
“In the shadow of the American rate, India back to the table for commercial conversations with the United Kingdom, EU”, a headline in the daily reading of Indian Express on Tuesday.
One of the biggest challenges for New Delhi in recent years has been to create millions of new jobs for their qualified young and quick expansion workforce.
The government of India has also pressed for years for Europe to grant faster visas for its businesses and students.
Cooperation in artificial technology and intelligence, where Europe and India are eager to play a more important role, will also be on the table.
Also security and defense, said the EU diplomat, adding that Brussels was anxious to “unite forces” with New Delhi. It is likely that the supply of defense equipment, the application of EU sanctions against Russia and peace conversations about Ukraine, be discussed.
India has long followed a strategic autonomy policy in foreign matters.
Historically near Russia, its traditional military hardware supplier has resisted Western pressure to distance from Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.
It is not expected that the visit of the commission will result in the signing of any agreement, but it should pave the way for an EU-India summit to be held in India at the end of this year.
