The European Union and India signed a security deal. They strengthened their collaboration on business partnerships, with a focus on a mobility strategy, on the sidelines of the last round of negotiations for their encompassing free trade agreement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa were in New Delhi as guests of honour at India’s 77th Republic Day Parade celebrations. During the visit, they and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that they concluded negotiations over a free trade agreement.
The visit also marked the first EU-India Business Forum. The leaders met with business leaders from both the EU and India and promoted a shared future with further business opportunities.
The most important agreements, though, have been on security and working mobility. The EU and India signed a Security and Defence Partnership to strengthen their defence industries and to cooperate closely on security issues. The partnership will focus on joint initiatives on maritime security, non-proliferation and disarmament, space, cyber terrorism, hybrid threats, and counterterrorism. The defence industry will also benefit, according to the Commission, through greater industrial cooperation and alignment on various defence initiatives.Â
Finally, a memorandum of understanding on working mobility was signed during the visit. It will enable greater cooperation to allow Indian workers access to Europe, targeting exceptionally skilled workers and young professionals in sectors with labour shortages. To facilitate this new system, the EU will establish a European Legal Gateway Office in India to help Indian workers and students find work in the EU and process their paperwork. The two partners will also set up a dialogue on education to align skills and qualifications to the demands of the European labour market.
