EU and India relaunch relations to negotiate free trade agreement
The President of the European Council Charles Michel during a press conference on the sidelines of the Porto summit on May 8, 2021. © AP - Luis Vieira
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2 min
The European Union and India agree to relaunch their relations.
European leaders meeting in Porto, Portugal, spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by video conference.
Negotiations for a free trade agreement had been dormant for almost a decade.
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With our special
correspondent in Porto,
Anthony Lattier
If India and the European Union are talking to each other again, it is because they both have an interest.
The Europeans are counting on the Indian giant to counterbalance the influence of China.
New Delhi, for its part, needs to find new allies.
“
I am happy to announce that we have opened an important new chapter in our relations,
enthuses the President of the European Council Charles Michel.
We are the two largest democracies in the world.
And today we have taken a concrete step to increase our strategic partnership
”.
A concrete step but a small step in spite of everything.
"
We should not expect the signing of a large-scale free trade agreement anytime soon,
" tempers a French diplomatic source.
India and the 27 have also posted their differences in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the
situation is catastrophic in his country,
Narendra Modi calls for the lifting of patents on vaccines while the Europeans were very clear during the summit: it is not the magic solution to respond to the crisis.
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