MENA Newswire, DAVOS: The European Union and India are nearing completion of a wide-ranging free trade agreement that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said would create a combined market of about 2 billion people and nearly a quarter of global GDP. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, von der Leyen said negotiations remain unfinished but described the talks as on the cusp of a historic accord.
The latest push comes as senior EU leaders prepare to travel to India later this month. Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa are scheduled to visit India from Jan. 25 to 27 and attend Republic Day ceremonies as chief guests, according to Indian media reports. The trip is expected to include summit-level talks in New Delhi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
EU officials have cast the prospective agreement as central to expanding commercial ties with India, one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies. The European Commission says the EU is India’s largest trading partner, with goods trade valued at 124 billion euros in 2023, while India ranked as the EU’s ninth-largest goods partner that year. Trade in services between the two sides reached 59.7 billion euros in 2023, up from 30.4 billion euros in 2020.
Negotiations date back nearly two decades. India and the EU began talks in 2007, but the process was suspended in 2013 amid differences over market access, tariffs and regulatory frameworks, according to reports from India. The European Commission says talks were relaunched on June 17, 2022, alongside separate negotiations on an investment protection agreement and an agreement on geographical indications.
Trade talks back in the spotlight at Davos
Von der Leyen’s Davos remarks placed the India talks alongside the EU’s broader trade agenda, while emphasizing that the text is not yet finalized. Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has publicly described the prospective pact as the “mother of all deals,” language echoed by von der Leyen in her speech. Officials on both sides have not published a final legal text, and any agreement would require domestic procedures before it can take effect.
The European Commission has outlined core objectives for the trade negotiations, including reducing barriers for exports, opening services and public procurement markets, strengthening protection for geographical indications, and pursuing commitments on trade and sustainable development with enforceable rules. The EU says the parallel investment protection talks aim to create a predictable environment for investors, including provisions on non-discrimination, safeguards against uncompensated expropriation, and rules on the transfer of returns, backed by a dispute settlement mechanism.
The Jan. 25 to 27 visit is set to keep trade at the center of the bilateral agenda, with leaders expected to review progress and remaining technical work. Indian reporting has said discussions have moved into a final phase ahead of a summit in New Delhi, though officials have not announced a signing date. Von der Leyen said in Davos that more work is needed to get an agreement “over the line.”
What the proposed EU–India agreement is designed to cover
If concluded, the pact would link the EU’s 27-member single market with India’s economy through a framework intended to lower trade frictions and provide clearer rules for cross-border business. For exporters, the talks focus on easing barriers and improving access across goods and services, while also addressing standards, procurement opportunities and protections for distinctive regional products recognized under geographical indications systems.
For investors, the separate investment protection track would seek to clarify treatment of companies operating across jurisdictions and outline mechanisms for resolving disputes. The European Commission has also framed the negotiations as part of a wider effort to deepen economic ties with India through structured cooperation, with the trade talks running alongside other dialogues already in place between the two partners.