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International Trade and Finance

Notes 23.1 India and the European Union

The Summit

The European Union and India had held their first Summit in 2000. The progress made since then
was so encouraging that by the middle of last year both sides agreed to establish a EU-India ‘strategic
partnership.’ At the Fifth India-EU Summit on November 8, 2004 where India was represented by
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and EU by Dutch Prime Minister Dr. Jan Petar Balkenende,
President of the European Council, both sides agreed to jointly workout a Comprehensive EU-India
Action Plan for a Strategic Partnership and a new Joint Political Declaration, at the next Summit.
They also agreed to hold regular, institutionalized parliamentary exchanges between the Indian
Parliament and the European Parliament and to promote political interaction between the two sides
by fostering cooperation between political parties and trade unions. Cooperation is also to be
encouraged between business associations, universities and civil societies.
A new feature now will be the flow of students and scholars between the EU and India through an
India specific scholarship programme under EU’s project Erasmus Mundus. An Energy Panel will
also be set up to coordinate joint efforts to ensure energy security in an increasingly volatile energy
environment when the rising prices of the fuel are causing havoc particularly in developing societies.
Both sides also agreed to organize EU-India Environment Forum and to exchange views and
information on issues of mutual interest. Joint workshops on automotive engineering, genomic studies,
life sciences and nano-technology will also be held with a view to meet the challenges of the future in
a spirit of cooperation. On the wider global plane the European Union and India agreed at the last -
Summit to install a dialogue on disarmament and non-proliferation. An agreement was reached ‘to
consider regular exchange of views on possibilities for cooperation on themes like resolution of
conflicts.’ These agreements provide a new dimension to EU-India relations for these indicate an
interest on the part of both of them to act as global players in concert with each other. This has
happened at a time of the enlargement of the EU to 25 countries covering the broad span of Europe all
the way from the Atlantic to the Ural and the Arctic to the Mediterranean and in the context of the
Lisbon strategy to make Europe the world’s most competitive economy by 2010. Europe has established
a new constitution for itself taking the European Union to a much higher stage of integration than
foreseen by the Maastricht Treaty. An expanded Europe and a growing India throw up an enormous
potential for a partnership for mutual benefit that the summit document seeks to crystallize.
Technology and Economic Cooperation
One of the highlights of the November 8, 2004 Joint India-EU statement is the decision to speed up
the conclusion of an agreement for India joining the European Union’s Galileo Global Positioning
System as part of their strategic partnership. This satellite navigation project with its network of 30
satellites will become operational by 2008 and will provide a real alternative to the Global Positioning
System being run by the US military that the US has the power to turn off selectively. It will guarantee
the availability of highest quality signals over the Indian territory. India has agreed to invest money
in this project appropriate to its participation in Galileo space, ground and user segments possibly to
the tune of US $200 million. In terms of a strategic partnership India’s participation under the Galileo
satellite navigation project will stand on the same footing as its cooperation with the EU in the
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project on fusion energy. The European
Union and India already have a history of cooperation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer
space. It has been moving forward on a regular basis through the European Space Agency and the
Indian Space Research Organization. At the Fifth Summit, while India showed interest in EU’s Galileo
project, EU flagged its interest in India’s Chandrayaan-I unmanned lunar exploration mission. It will
include a payload of 55 kg of onboard instruments plus a 10 kg impactor for soft landing.
There is also a continuing strategic dialogue between India and the EU on the Information Society. In
order to facilitate linkages in the area of research and technological developments, both sides agreed
at the Fifth Summit to work towards a mutually acceptable mechanism to connect their information
networks. EU and India have signed a MOU for a partnership programme providing for cooperation

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