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India and the EU are continuing to hammer retired the details of a commercialized agreement little than 72 hours earlier European leaders get successful India for the 16th EU-India Summit. The Summit, scheduled for January 27, is centred astir a ‘Free Trade’ Agreement (FTA) that has been successful the works for much than 2 decades and is proving hard to negociate with “sensitivities” astir agriculture, c borderline taxes, work transportation and non-tariff barriers.
Other agreements connected the docket for adjacent week are a caller Defence and Security partnership, an statement connected accusation information and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) connected a mobility framework.
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A associated connection volition laic retired a caller strategical roadmap, outlined successful the associated statement, mounting the people of the India-EU concern for the adjacent 5 years. Deeper practice is expected to beryllium announced crossed assorted dimensions, including clime change, proviso chains and captious minerals, humanitarian assistance and catastrophe relief, arsenic good arsenic practice astatine multilateral forums.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal had confirmed connected January 15 that “sensitive cultivation issues connected some sides” were disconnected the table. EU officials successful Brussels, briefing the media connected Friday, declined to supply details of the commercialized deal, including cultivation trade. They, however, did corroborate that it would beryllium announced – but not signed – adjacent week.
“I tin conscionable corroborate that it is our nonsubjective to implicit the negotiations. Of course, that’s the archetypal step. We’re not talking astir signature successful Delhi, but we’re talking astir decision of the negotiations,” an EU authoritative said connected Friday (January 23, 2026). A caller woody betwixt the EU and Mercosur countries of South America has tally into occupation astir cultivation and different concerns. The European Parliament connected January 21 referred the woody to the highest EU court, perchance delaying the implementation of the agreement.
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Apart from trade, the information that a Defence and Security statement that would beryllium signed adjacent week is “significant”, different EU authoritative said. “It is lone the 3rd specified broad statement we’ve concluded successful Asia, aft Japan and the Republic of Korea.“
The statement volition found a framework, alternatively than stipulating specifics successful presumption of co-production deals, associated subject exercises oregon the transportation of technology.
Technology transfer
On whether the defence statement would code exertion transportation from the EU to India, 1 EU authoritative said, “It does, but of course, it remains, adjacent aft the agreement, taxable to the discretion of the companies and besides of the countries allowing for these exports.”
The information concern besides raises the question of Russia – a halfway contented connected which India and the EU person glaring differences. European officials person much precocious acknowledged that New Delhi and Brussels person precise antithetic approaches to Russia adjacent arsenic the EU objected to India’s information successful the Zapad 2025 subject exercises successful Russia and Belarus, and has repeatedly taken contented with India’s lipid commercialized with Russia. New Delhi has accused Brussels of singling it retired successful these matters and pointed to the EU’s ain commercialized with Russia.
On Friday (January 23, 2026), officials acknowledged that India and the EU had antithetic histories with Russia. India was “far away” geographically from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. A dialog connected information threats was truthful each the much important to recognize the concerns of some sides truthful the “optimum” level of practice tin beryllium determined, an authoritative said.
The sides are besides readying to reason a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) connected mobility that volition code the question of 4 categories of workers — highly skilled workers, students, researchers and seasonal workers — whose question is already addressed by the blocs legislation. The fig of individuals admitted to each EU state volition beryllium up to the country, an authoritative said.
The 2 sides are committed to taking the India Middle East Europe Economic (IMEC) Corridor forward, 1 authoritative said, with feasibility studies being planned. The task had been acceptable backmost owed to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
While India and the EU person been deepening and broadening their narration for much than a decennary now, the circumstances contiguous person supported an acceleration successful convergences — with some entities’ respective trading relationships with the U.S. nether the Donald Trump medication successful disarray.
Strategically arsenic well, the EU has been reeling from the unravelling of the transatlantic relationship, including, astir recently, the situation implicit Mr. Trump’s request for Greenland. The bloc has besides been squeezed astatine different ends, with an astir four-year warfare betwixt Russia and Ukraine and a narration with China that it is seeking to de-risk. For India, faced with 50% tariffs from the U.S., a commercialized woody with the EU is important arsenic 1 of its largest commercialized partners (bilateral commercialized successful FY 2024/25 was conscionable implicit $136 billion) and the EU is the largest commercialized spouse of India for commercialized successful goods.
