Commission proposes a new strategic partnership between the EU and India

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The European Commission today adopted a Communication which proposes to build an ambitious strategic partnership between the EU and India. The communication examines the many facets of EU-India relations in the light of India's role as an emerging global player and a major regional actor. It proposes a series of concrete steps to strengthen co-operation in five key areas: International cooperation through multilateralism with a focus on conflict prevention, the fight against terrorism, non-proliferation and human rights; Strengthening of economic partnerships through sectoral and regulatory policy dialogues; Cooperation in development policies in order to help India meets the Millennium Development Goals; Fostering intellectual and cultural exchanges; Improvement of the institutional architecture of EU-India relations.

Commissioner Chris Patten said: "Following the recent elections I look forward to working with the new Indian government to deepen our relationship, and I hope that ministers will respond to our Communication with proposals of their own".

Improving international cooperation: the EU and India should reinforce their strategic alliance for the promotion of an effective multilateral approach, promoting peace, security, human rights and democracy in the world. They should co-ordinate positions in the preparation, negotiation and implementation of major multilateral conventions in the UN. They also should strengthen their co-operation on conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction, addressing global concerns such as non-proliferation, terrorism and organised crime. Their human rights dialogue should be enhanced, both bilaterally and internationally.

Strengthening the Economic partnership: the Communication defines a coherent economic strategy in order to raise volumes of trade and investment. The EU and India should develop a dialogue on cross-cutting issues such as industrial policy, good governance, competition and environment and on strategic sectors such as information society, transport, energy, biotechnology or space cooperation (where the EU and India intend to cooperate closely through Galileo).

Development cooperation: The EU should support India's determination to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and support its objective to reduce social inequalities and regional disparity. A special attention should be given to improved governance and environmental sustainability.

Mutual understanding: the EU and India should boost intellectual and cultural ties through the development of parliamentary and academic exchanges as well as cultural projects.

Institutional Architecture: the EU and India should streamline and make more effective the framework of their relationship.


For more information visit the web site:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/india/intro/index.htm

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