Free trade agreement is in interest of both India, EU, says representative Johannes Hahn

Mumbai: Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, on Tuesday batted for the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union, saying that having an FTA would be in the mutual interest of both sides.

When asked about India EU Trade Relations, Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, said, "We believe it is important to have strong and close relations. Trade is one of the core elements of this relationship. It is not by chance that we are the strongest trade partner for India, that's why we think the next step should be done and it should be a comprehensive free trade agreement, which I understand will be in the interest of both India and Europe...there is always room for improvement."

For context, the negotiations for an India-EU FTA were formally re-launched on June 17, 2022.

India and the European Union are reportedly in the advanced stage to complete the FTA talks. According to the commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal, the next round of negotiations for an India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) was planned from September 23-27 in New Delhi.

Hahn further asserted that there is always room for improvement in terms of trade between both sides, as India-EU is "now the biggest trade partner."

Going further, he stated that EU sees an opportunity to raise money from the Indian capital market to support the recovery and resilience of the European economy.

Highlighting the benefits of Euro Bonds, he stated that the Eurobonds are an opportunity for Indian investors as they will only invest in bonds but they will also be investing in European industries.

"It is a AAA-rated bond...it is a solid, sustainable and successful bond which generates quite attractive yields...it contributes to the reinforcement of the European economy, means European single market. The European single market is very important for Indian companies," he added.

Hahn stated that India and the EU believe in the multipolarity of the world and both sides should lead the world order.

"We are both very strong economic powers and if we're cooperating even more together we can certainly influence the global situation and in that respect working closely together means also having leverage in global discussions. And I think Europe and India are best suited also to reconcile the discussion between the West and the South," he added.