Trade arrangements between the EU and India will have to be aligned with Europe’s Green Deal and its Farm To Fork strategy, the European Parliament has insisted.

While MEPs welcomed the reopening of trade talks with India, the parliament stated that any agreement would have to be informed by international climate change treaties and be compatible with European values and standards in areas such as democracy, labour rights and women’s rights.

MEPs called for speedy solutions on market access, including for agriculture, and for swift Indian government action on technical barriers including certification requirements.

While the parliament acknowledged that agriculture accounted for 41% of Indian employment, MEPs said this could not be allowed to restrict market access for EU agricultural products.

Agreements

Rapporteur Geert Bourgeois said the EU urgently needed to conclude more new trade and investment agreements.

“More than ever, it is crucial to strengthen our open strategic autonomy by diversifying our supply lines if we want to secure our prosperity and create additional jobs,” Bourgeois said.

“A trade and investment agreement with India's booming economy offers many opportunities for our companies and is also of great geopolitical significance,” he added.

Meanwhile, European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis described Europe’s partnership with India as one of the union’s most important relationships for the upcoming decade.

Europe’s aspirations of a trade deal with India are tied into a wider EU strategy of increased engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, which has already resulted in the conclusion of a free trade agreement with New Zealand.

This EU policy is viewed as an attempt to curb China's growing power and influence in the Pacific.