lexquest.

in

http://lexquest.in/indo-european-ties-relationship-india-european-union/

Indo-European Ties: Relationship between India and European

Union
LexQuest

March 2,
2015

By Ju ernovek, Lawyer, Slovenia.

In the words of Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy : The
European Union (EU) and India share both aspirations and fundamental values, notably a commitment to
multilateralism in world affairs. We should bolster our relationship not as an end in itself, but with a real sense of
purpose[1] There is no doubt that India and EU should be important partners in economic and political views. But is
that really so? Is the strategic partnership between the two really strategic? This article reflects on the relations
between the EU and India and tries to point out the differences and similarities and especially the potential that this
relationship has. On one hand it tries to analyze the biggest problems of the relationship while on the other explains
the current situations and advantages that come from it.
The EU-India bilateral relations have more historical precedence than most others, going back as early as the
1960s. In 1994, the two parties signed a Co-Operation Agreement resulting in annual summits between the two
parties and it has laid the foundation for current relations. In 2004, the Co-Operation Agreement was expanded upon
via the accord of a Joint Action Plan that made India one of the EUs primary strategic partners. Revised in 2008, the
Action Plan fosters cooperation on issues of international security, the development of the Free Trade Agreement
(FTA), and the bilateral collaboration on climate change.[2] The EU-28 is Indias largest trading partner, accounting for
roughly 15 percent of total trade in goods and services. It is an important market for Indias export of textiles, apparel,
pharmaceuticals, gems, jewelry and IT. The EU is also the largest source of FDI inflows to India, accounting for over
one-fourth of the total.[3]
As stated India and EU also cooperate on the field of security, especially Terrorism. Both have in 2010, signed a Joint
Declaration in which they Condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever
and for whatever purpose[4] India has also played a key role in failed state initiatives such as the Sri Lankan Civil
War in the late 80s and in Afghanistan over the past decade.[5]
But how do these agreements translate in to practice? Is the cooperation with the EU and India reaching its potential?
Despite important economic gains that come from the relationship, EU and India are still trying to conclude the FTA for
which the negotiations started in 2007 but is on thin ice since 2011 and it does not seem that it will be agreed upon in
the near future. The conclusion of the agreement would represent a major achievement in the economic
relations, as the agreement has enormous potential in fostering the growth of the European and Indian
markets.
Even though numerous agreements were already made and negotiated the concrete cooperation is still severely
lacking. According to the study made by academics Stephan Keukeleire and Bas Hooijmaaijers which analyzes the
voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly between India and the (then) 27 EU member states from
2004-2010. On issues of international security, India and the member states of the EU cast the same response
between 20 47 percent most of the times. The study shows fundamental differences in how the EU and India view
their role in the global community. India is far less concerned with being a global actor than the EU, and seemingly
prefers specific agreements that will help growth before all else.[6] India also has different views on global
governance issues and multilateralism, it strongly supports respect for national sovereignty and prefers legally nonbinding commitments agreed by consensus, while the EU is in general a strong proponent of international legally
binding commitments as well as powerful international regimes. The EU encourages social protection, respect for the

environment and human rights, while India is rather reluctant to let its economic growth and development be limited
by concerns about these issues.[7]
These findings are worrying for the EU and for its ambition to project its values as a normative power. The EU
considers human rights issues as highly important in its foreign policy and easily assumes that this position is shared
by other democratic countries in the world. However, the data demonstrate that the EU significantly differs on these
issues with an important country that the EU not only has designated as a strategic partner, but that it also perceives
as a full-fledged democracy. The observation that India and the EU member states do not cast identical votes on
human rights issues in the UNGA can be explained by Indias strong preference to respect the national sovereignty of
third countries and to uphold the principles of non-intervention and equality between nations. These principles or
values are considered more important than the promotion of human rights and democracy which at least in the EUs
formal discourse figure at the top of the EUs priorities. The launch of the EU-India strategic partnership in 2004 so
far does not seem to have helped the EU and India to overcome their different approaches.[8]
Despite the stated problems, the relationship between India and EU has a bright future and should be looked upon as
a great opportunity. Trade between the two has more than doubled from 25.6 billion (US$36.7 billion) in 2000 to
55.6 billion euros in 2007, with further expansion to be seen.[9] Furthermore, the EU pledged up to 470 million Euros
from 2007-2013 that focused EU funds on the Joint Action Plan and especially education and healthcare initiatives
within India. Such further agreements only highlight the increased importance of the partnership. It seems that EU will
again step up and work harder to improve the relations with India, not only on economical level but also on the fields
of human rights and climate change. As Neena Gill, a vice-chair of parliaments delegation for relations with India
said: The organization of an EU-India summit in 2015 will be crucial in making sure New Delhi is put back on our
agenda and vice versa. Bringing relations under an EU framework will allow us to deliver results that far exceed the
combined outcome of bilateral agreements with individual EU member states. If we want the strategic partnership
with India to be worthy of its name, we will need to develop a substantive agenda for the summit, have a clear idea of
the results we want to achieve, and secure the budget necessary to make this happen. It is high time to fire up the
circuits, and de-ice the EU-India relationship.[10]
[1] Catherine Ashton, New Delhi, 2010 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-10-336_en.htm?locale=en
[2] Akasha Radia, Examining The EU-India Relationship Dynamic,
https://isiseurope.wordpress.com/2014/05/15/examining-the-eu-india-relationship-dynamic/.
[3] Ritesh Kumar Singh & Prachi Priya, Whats Holding Back the India-EU FTA?,
http://thediplomat.com/2014/06/whats-holding-back-the-india-eu-fta/.
[4] EU India Joint declaration on International Terrorism, Brussels 2010,
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/118405.pdf.
[5] Ibid 2.
[6] Ibid 2.
[7] Stephan Keukeleire and Bas Hooijmaaijers, EU-India relations and multilateral governance: where is the strategic
partnership?, page 120, FPRC Journal, 2013.
[8] Ibidem 7.
[9] EU, India to expand cooperation, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/30/content_10135165.htm.
[10] Neena Gill, Time to de-ice EU-India relations, https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/opinion/time-deice-eu-india-relations.
Click on one of the buttons below to unlock the remaining content!

Please show your support for our portal by liking our Social Media pages.
like
tweet
+1 us
LexQuest:All Things Law, 2014-2015