Trade MEPs in India next week
A delegation of trade MEPs will visit India to discuss trade talks about to restart, pending trade issues and India’s take on the EU-Indo-Pacific strategy.
Between 11 and 13 April, a delegation of seven MEPs led by trade committee chair Bernd Lange (S&D, DE) arrives to New Delhi to discuss upcoming trade and investment talks between the EU and India.
Market access, environmental and labour rights
Besides negotiations that are restarting between the EU and India, MEPs are also expected to discuss EU companies’ issues in entering the Indian market, supply value chains, as well as elements of trade agreements related to energy, the green transition and labour rights.
The trade delegation is set to meet leading members of India’s Parliament, government and senior officials, including Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) at the Ministry of external affairs, and Indian chief negotiators for agreements with the EU. They will also discuss with Nobel Peace Prize winner 2014 Kailash Satyarthi, the public policy think tank of the Indian government, and trade union and employer representatives. The MEPs will meet European companies present in India, and conduct a field trip to a ready-made garment manufacturing and export firm.
Members of the delegation
Bernd Lange (S&D, DE), Chair of the Committee on International Trade
Jan Zahradil (ECR, CZ), Vice Chair of the Committee on International Trade and Rapporteur on the Indo-Pacific Strategy
Søren Gade (Renew Europe, DK) Chair of the Parliament’s delegation to India
Arnaud Danjean (EPP, FR)
Agnes Jongerius (S&D, NL),
Svenja Hahn (Renew Europe, DE)
Margarida Marques (S&D, PT)
"It is a good time to engage with our Indian counterparts and the administration. We will want to see if the vision of the European Parliament for a trade agreement aligns with that of India and will explain our position on topics on which we do not yet see eye to eye. We will also want to have a discussion about the Russian war of aggression. It is a topic we cannot and do not want to avoid and one on which we expect the democracies of the world to take a clear stance," said Bernd Lange.
Background
Negotiations for a trade agreement with India started in June 2007 and brought to a de facto standstill in 2013. In 2021, leaders agreed to resume talks on a free trade agreement and to launch separate negotiations for an agreement on investment protection and on geographical indications. Until now, no new round of talks have taken place.
The standing rapporteur for India and rapporteur for an ongoing report on future EU-India trade and investment relations is Geert Bourgeois (ECR, BE).
Contacts:
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Eszter BALÁZS
Press Officer