Beyond business as usual: 

Beyond business as usual: 

Context:

The 14th edition of India-EU Summit will take place in New Delhi today.

Introduction:

• The EU will be represented by Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and by Jean Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. India will be represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The summit with India will mark the 55th anniversary since the establishment of EU-India diplomatic relations.

Focus areas:

The 14th summit will focus on concrete priority actions for the strategic bilateral partnership in the following areas:

Bilateral relations:

1. Leaders will take stock of the implementation of the EU-India agenda for action 2020 endorsed last year and will call for further progress.
2. In the area of security, EU and India leaders will discuss how to further enhance cooperation on counter-terrorism and maritime security.
3. Science and Technology and innovation
4. Reforming the multilateral architecture to prevent the rise of isolationist, unilateral and authoritarian forces.
5. On trade and investment, leaders will review the state of play and next steps towards relaunching negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA).
6. They will also welcome the launch of an investment facilitation mechanism for EU investors in India, and the strong engagement of the European Investment Bank in India.
7. Europe will support India’s ambitious goals through investment and expertise in green buildings, renewable energy, waste management and air pollution.
8. The two sides will also discuss domestic cyber policy landscape, and Internet governance, mechanism on bilateral cooperation and possible cooperation at various international fora and regional fora.
9. Apart from the above areas they will also discuss possible collaboration for the 5th Global Conference on Cyber Space to be held in New Delhi from November 23-24.

Global issues:

• At the summit, the EU and India will discuss some of the most pressing global challenges.
• Leaders are expected to call for enhanced cooperation within the G20 in order to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth.
• India and EU share core values, commercial interests and a desire to tackle climate change.
• In addition, the EU and India will stress their commitment to the Paris Agreement and the sustainable development goals.
• EU and India leaders will also exchange views on migration and refugees. They will discuss the Rohingya crisis as well as the work on global compacts for migration and for refugees.
• Terrorism to cooperating on cyber security and digital.

Foreign and security policy:

EU and India leaders will discuss the latest developments in their respective wider neighbourhoods. This includes among others:

• the situation in the Korean peninsula
• the latest developments regarding Ukraine
• the state of play in Afghanistan
• EU-India cooperation in the Indian Ocean area and Africa

How can India and Europe further deepen their partnership?

• On September 13, 751 parliamentarians from 28 states resolved that the EU-India partnership “has not yet reached its full potential,” and called on Brussels and New Delhi to “strengthen their efforts in promoting effective, rule-based multilateralism”.
• Address security challenges with “respect for international law and cooperation among democratic states.”
• Delhi has accelerated outreach efforts in the Baltic and Central and Eastern Europe region, where China’s formidable Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is changing the balance of power and threatening European unity.
• For the EU, the challenge is to openly recognize that beyond mere economic and transactional interest, democratic India makes for a much more attractive and sustainable partner than China.
• India needs to open its market to European goods, services and investment.
• India also have to invest in greater coordination security cooperation with Europe in overlapping spheres of influence.
• Converging interest to ensure Eurasian connectivity plans that are multilateral, and also financially and environmentally sustainable.
• The protection of international legal principles such as the freedom of navigation or the development of regulatory frameworks that foster scientific and technological innovation under the rule of law.
• Cooperation in research and innovation, by facilitating research opportunities and increasing research collaboration between the EU and India.
• Both the sides need the highest standards of data protection. This will help to protect citizens’ rights online and also make it easier for businesses on both sides to work together by exchanging personal data freely and securely.
• There is need to pool our knowledge and resources to tackle common threats of terrorism, radicalisation and cyber crime.

Conclusion:

• The European Union and India are natural partners. Every year, millions of Europeans come to India to discover this great country’s many marvels. There is even a local cricket team in my native Luxembourg, made up largely of Indian players.
• India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies; the EU is the world’s biggest open market and the world’s second largest economy.
• As the world’s two largest democracies, it is now time for Europe and India to infuse their relationship with a liberal vision for a transformed global order