Modi plans FTA push with Europe this summer, fast-tracking implementation on cards

Ties with European countries will be on top of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s travel agenda this summer as the European Union’s Parliament discusses ratifying the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, which was announced in January this year.

Officials are finalising dates for the five-nation Nordic Summit with Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, as well as a bilateral visit to The Netherlands, both of which were cancelled last year due to the Pahalgam attack. In addition, Mr. Modi will also travel to Évian-les-Bains in France for the G-7 Summit outreach hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron on June 15-16, where U.S. President Donald Trump and leaders of Germany, Italy, U.K., Japan and Canada will meet.

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While the impact of the West Asia war on the global economy is expected to overshadow all the meetings, officials said the aim of the visits is to discuss trade and technology opportunities before the EU-India FTA is put in place. On Wednesday, an 11-member parliamentary delegation of the EU wound up a three-day visit to Delhi, where they met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. They also held a meeting of the India-European Parliament Parliamentary Friendship Group. The delegation, led by Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Anjelika Niebler, discussed fast-tracking the voting on FTA in the European Parliament. EU officials said that they hoped the agreement can be implemented within the year, which will boost current trade levels of about $140 billion. 

“The India-EU FTA represents a defining milestone in our partnership, poised to unlock new opportunities for businesses, MSMEs, and skilled professionals on both sides,” Mr. Goyal said, describing his meeting with the delegation. “We discussed pathways for its early implementation, alongside continued constructive engagement,” he added.

Officials of the Ministry of External Affairs are discussing the possibility of the Nordic Summit in Oslo in May, as well as Mr. Modi’s bilateral visit to the Netherlands. Much will depend on the formation of the government in Denmark, they said, where Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s party didn’t win a clear majority in last week’s election, but talks for a coalition government are on. In Netherlands, Prime Minister Rob Jetten formed his government in February and officials confirmed that they are now in talks about a visit in May or June. After an introductory call with Mr. Modi on Monday, Mr. Jetten said in a post that he looks forward to welcoming him to the Netherlands “soon”, and taking forward the strategic partnership on defence, water management, innovation and trade. “With everything going on in the world at the moment, now is the time to strengthen our cooperation,” he added.

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“[We] exchanged views on the situation in West Asia and emphasised the need for early restoration of peace and stability in the region,” Mr. Modi said in his post.

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s summer plans, New Delhi has been stepping up its engagement with European capitals this year. Mr. Macron is one of several European leaders who have visited Delhi this year, including European Presidents Ursula Von Der Leyen and Antonio Costa, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finland President Alexander Stubb. Mr. Jaishankar has already travelled to Europe four times in the past three months – to Brussels, Munich and twice to France for multilateral meetings, and has also met his EU counterpart Kaja Kallas on the sidelines a number of times.