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The European Union is connected the cusp of signing a historical commercialized statement with India that is being called 'the parent of each deals', European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced connected Tuesday (January 20, 2026), asserting it volition make a marketplace for 2 cardinal radical oregon astir one-fourth of the planetary GDP.
In a peculiar code successful Davos astatine the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, she said the existent would crucially supply a first-mover vantage for Europe with 1 of the world's fastest-growing and astir dynamic continents.
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"Right aft Davos, I volition question to India. There is inactive enactment to do. But we are connected the cusp of a historical commercialized agreement. Some telephone it the parent of each deals," she said.
"Europe wants to bash concern with the maturation centres of contiguous and the economical powerhouses of this century.”
"From Latin America to the Indo-Pacific and acold beyond, Europe volition ever take the world. And the satellite is acceptable to take Europe," she said.
President of the European Council, Antonio Costa and Ms. von der Leyen will beryllium successful India from January 25 to 27 to grace the Republic Day celebrations arsenic main guests and clasp acme talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 2 sides are acceptable to denote the decision of negotiations connected the much-awaited Free Trade Agreement astatine the India-EU acme connected January 27.
European Commission President said the EU is besides moving connected a caller escaped commercialized statement with Australia.
"We are besides advancing with the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, the UAE — and more," she added.
She besides said Europe volition ever basal with Ukraine until determination is simply a conscionable and lasting peace.
The European Union is India's biggest commercialized partner, with bilateral commercialized successful goods signaling $135 cardinal successful the fiscal twelvemonth 2023-24. The escaped commercialized statement is expected to importantly heighten commercialized ties.
The projected statement is expected to bring a qualitative alteration successful deepening the wide bilateral ties successful a scope of sectors, arsenic good arsenic astatine a clip erstwhile the satellite is witnessing commercialized disruptions successful presumption of Washington's tariff policy.
Besides firming up the escaped commercialized agreement, the 2 sides are apt to unveil a defence model pact and a strategical docket astatine the summit.
India and the European Union person been strategical partners since 2004.
The ambitious FTA is being firmed up astatine a clip amid expanding concerns implicit Washington's commercialized and tariff policies, which person impacted some India and the 27-nation EU.
India and the EU are besides expected to unveil a associated broad strategical imaginativeness that volition govern their narration for the play 2026-2030.
The EU and India had archetypal launched negotiations for the escaped commercialized statement successful 2007, earlier the talks were suspended successful 2013 owed to a spread successful ambition. The negotiations. The negotiations were relaunched successful June 2022.
The projected Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) volition facilitate deeper defence and information practice betwixt the 2 sides.
The SDP volition bring interoperability successful the defence domain, and it volition unfastened up avenues for Indian firms to enactment successful the EU's SAFE (Security Action for Europe) programme. The SAFE is the EU's Euro 150 cardinal fiscal instrumentality designed to supply fiscal enactment to subordinate states to velocity up defence readiness.
At the summit, India and the EU are besides acceptable to motorboat the negotiations for a Security of Information Agreement (SOIA). The SOIA is expected to boost concern defence practice betwixt the 2 sides.
