EC President visits India: The turning point is here

Entering the new decade

This is the first visit by the EC Commissioners after the body added new members for the 2024-2029 term late last month. At the same time, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs stressed that 2025 is the first year of the third decade since the EU and India established a strategic partnership (2004).

The EC delegation will attend the second EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi and a special session co-chaired by the leaders of both sides.

Explaining the reason for visiting India, EC President Ursula von der Leyen said: “In an era of fierce geostrategic competition, Europe stands for openness, cooperation and outreach. We are ready to deepen relations with one of our most trusted friends and allies - India. We are like-minded partners. That is why the EC delegation is visiting India first.”

However, the leader is no stranger to the land of the Ganges - this is her third visit here, after a bilateral visit in April 2022 and attending the G20 Summit in September 2023.

“The visit is highly symbolic and reflects the priority the EU places on this relationship. We see each other as partners and positive forces. The world needs such positive, stabilizing forces at the moment,” said Herve Delphin, Ambassador of the EU Delegation to India.

He said that EC President Ursula von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as senior officials from both sides, will work to explore potential and seek opportunities to take bilateral relations to new heights, first of all implementing the EU-India strategic agenda, which Ursula von der Leyen recently announced, towards the third round of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement and the summit scheduled to be held this year.

Meanwhile, as the two sides enter the third decade of their strategic partnership, the EC delegation's visit will "pave the way for further strengthening bilateral ties, based on growing common interests," according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

Lots to talk about

So what are those common benefits?

First of all, at present, the above TTC mechanism has just been established by the EU with the US and India. However, according to the Institute of East Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore, this mechanism has not made much clear progress. On that basis, the upcoming TTC meeting is an opportunity for the EU to affirm the importance of India as a leading partner and promote the implementation of the TTC.

Sebastiano Toffaletti, Secretary General of the Coalition for Digital Small and Medium Enterprises, said that Europe’s digital infrastructure efforts, the “EuroStack”, could benefit from learning from India’s “IndiaStack”, including expanding access to financial services and the digital society. This could help the EU reduce its dependence on external technology providers and build a more sustainable digital ecosystem.

Regarding the content of the discussion, Ms. von der Leyen said that the two sides could address issues such as promoting trade, economic security, supply chain resilience, building a common technology agenda, and enhancing security and defense cooperation.

“If you want to upgrade clean technology, if you want to expand digital infrastructure – Europe is ready to participate,” the leader said. Meanwhile, The Indian Express (India) quoted sources as saying that artificial intelligence (AI) and technology cooperation are likely to be discussed, following up on the AI ​​Action Summit in Paris last month, an event attended by both Modi and von der Leyen.

However, besides cooperation, the two sides still have many “thorny” issues. One of them is India’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. On February 24, New Delhi abstained from voting on two resolutions calling for an end to the conflict, supporting comprehensive peace and Kiev’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The EU also added four Indian companies to its list of entities and individuals subject to sanctions for dealing with Russia in the latest round of sanctions against Moscow on February 24.

On that basis, Mr. Modi could mention this content in his conversation with Ms. von der Leyen, clarifying India's stance on relations with Russia and the current conflict, and at the same time convincing the EC to remove this country's companies from the sanctions list. According to The Indian Express, the US policy under President Donald Trump, the story of China will also appear in the exchange between the EC and India.

However, in the current context, differences cannot hinder the development of EU-India relations. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is still hot, new pressure from the US, the un-thawed relationship with China and many other variables require both sides to tighten relations, expand cooperation to coexist and truly be a “positive, stabilizing force” in a volatile world. The EC delegation’s visit to India could be a turning point in that effort.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/chu-tich-ec-tham-an-do-buoc-ngoat-la-day-305858.html