Brussels, 30 March 2016
The 13th Summit between the European Union and India took place in Brussels
on 30 March 2016. Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission,
Mr Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Mr Narendra Modi, Prime
Minister of India, participated in the Summit.
The 13th Summit between the European Union and India
took place in Brussels on 30 March 2016.
Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, Mr
Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Mr Narendra Modi, Prime
Minister of India, participated in the Summit.
The EU High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy /
Vice-President of the Commission, Ms Federica Mogherini, and the
Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, also
attended.
The leaders
reconfirmed their commitment to give new momentum to the bilateral relationship
endorsing the EU-India Agenda for Action 2020 as
a common roadmap to jointly guide and strengthen the India-EU Strategic
Partnership in the next five years. The agenda further builds on the shared
objectives and outcomes of the Joint Action Plans of 2005 and 2008. It
encompasses a wide range of areas for cooperation such as foreign and security
policy, trade and investment, economy, global issues as well as people to
people contacts.
The leaders
strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Brussels on 22 March 2016 as an
unacceptable affront to our open democratic societies and extended their
deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims. The EU and India
confirmed their commitment to remain united and firm in the fight against
hatred, violent extremism and terrorism by adopting a joint declaration on Counter Terrorism.It
aims to step up the EU-India cooperation to counter extremism and
radicalisation, stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters and curb sources of
terrorist financing and arms supply.
Both sides decided to further strengthen the EU-India economic partnership.
The EU’s Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change and India’s “Sabka
Saath, Sabka Vikas” – (“Collective Efforts, Inclusive Growth”) initiatives
create new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between people and
businesses on both sides. The leaders welcomed that both sides have re-engaged
in discussions on how to further the EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment
Agreement (BTIA) negotiations. The EU is India’s largest trading partner,
accounting for 13% of India’s overall trade (in 2015 the total value of
EU-India trade in goods reached €77.5 billion) and also first foreign investor.
The EU welcomed India’s readiness to establish a mechanism to facilitate
investments of all EU Member States in India.
The leaders welcomed the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) commitment
to support long-term investment in infrastructure crucial for environmentally
sustainable, social and economic development in India, and in particular the
EIB’s loan of €450 million in the construction of the first metro line in the
city of Lucknow. The EIB and the Government of India signed a first tranche of
€200 million. The leaders also welcomed the announcement by the EIB of the
upcoming establishment in New Delhi of the Bank's regional representation for
South Asia.
The EU and India decided to step up their
cooperation to fight climate change and adopted the ‘Joint Declarationbetween the EU and India on a Clean Energy
and Climate Partnership’.
It is key to the
implementation of the Paris Agreement and will trigger
a renewed climate dialogue with India. It intends to reinforce
energy cooperation, mainly on renewable energy sources, promote clean energy
generation and increased energy efficiency.
The EU and India agreed to address
environmental challenges and work together towards sustainable development
enhancing cooperation on environment issues. The ‘Joint Declaration by the European Union and the Republic of India
on Indo-European Water Partnership’adopted at the Summit foresees
strengthening technological, scientific and management capabilities in the
field of water management and supports the Indian 'Clean Ganga' and 'Clean
India' flagship projects.
Establishment of the
Clean Energy and Climate Partnership as well as the Indo-European Water
Partnership will bring together representatives of relevant stakeholders,
including interested EU Member States and Indian States, European and Indian
institutions, businesses and civil society creating business and technology
opportunities between the EU and India.
The EU and India have
also agreed to intensify their cooperation on research and innovation
particularly addressing current global challenges including Health. The
statement highlights the extension of the India-EU Science and Technology
Cooperation Agreement until 2020 and setting up of mechanisms for jointly
financing research and innovation projects. The leaders also encouraged
increasing links between the ‘Digital India’ initiative and the EU’s ‘Digital
Single Market’ through enhanced cooperation in cyber security, ICT
standardisation, Internet Governance, research and innovation.
The leaders also endorsed the
establishment of the Common Agenda on Migration and
Mobility (CAMM) between the EU and India, reflecting the
importance of India as a strategic partner for the EU in the field of migration
and mobility. The CAMM, as a framework for cooperation, is the start of a
longer term process which will lead to deeper cooperation and solid mutual
engagement on migration, a key global policy area. The CAMM addresses four
pillars in a balanced manner: better organised regular migration and the fostering
of well-managed mobility; prevention of irregular migration and trafficking in
human beings; maximising the development impact of migration and mobility; and
the promotion of international protection.
Both sides expressed
their commitment to step up foreign policy and security cooperation. They
discussed the latest developments in the EU's and India's respective
neighbourhoods.
In particular, the EU
and India support the on-going efforts towards an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned
process of peace and reconciliation, leading to an environment free of violence
and terror. In this context they looked forward to the Brussels Ministerial
Conference on Afghanistan on 5 October 2016 with a view to renew a framework
for international partnership and cooperation until 2020. They expressed their
support to enhanced and broad-based regional cooperation in South Asia.
The leaders expressed
deep concern about the situation in the Middle East hoping that intra-Syrian
talks, under the UN auspices, will ensure a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned
political transition, bringing an end to the violence in Syria.
The leaders strongly
supported a diplomatic solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine through the
full implementation of the Minsk Agreements by all parties in accordance with
UN Security Council Resolution 2202 (2015).
The Summit was an
opportunity for the leaders also to discuss human rights issues, the ongoing
international arbitration under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS) in regard to the case of two Italian marines, as well as the case of
fourteen Estonian and six UK Guards sentenced to prison by an Indian court.
The Leaders reaffirmed
the G20’s key role in achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth to the
benefit of citizens and recognised the importance of implementing the
comprehensive agenda adopted at the G-20 Summit of November 2015.
The leaders also agreed
to start a dialogue on swift implementationof the 2030 agenda for Sustainable
Development and of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
For more information:
No comments:
Post a Comment