EU-India free trade: make or break

The context of the EU-India relationship has changed radically with a spiralling eurozone crisis and a recent fall in India’s growth rate. The global environment has become more volatile and unstable. The EU-India relationship cannot now be assessed in hermetic isolation. Slow paced relations incur a higher cost. While India has genuine concerns over what free trade will do to vulnerable poor communities, in overall terms trade liberalisation with Europe will be beneficial.

The partnership must begin delivering with urgency to help generate new growth, market confidence and mutual prosperity.

In its fifth year of negotiations, the EU-India Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) must move forward from a long drawn out ‘final stage’ to conclusion. This brief charts the grounds for resolving outstanding concerns to the mutual benefit of both the EU and India.