Elections in India and EU holding up FTA talks, hope to start later this year: Irish Minister

Elections to the European Parliament and in India this year are holding up talks for the India-EU Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement, Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, indicating that unlike the India European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed last week, the EU agreement will take at least another year to be finalised. Speaking about his talks in New Delhi this week in an interview with The Hindu, the Minister explained Ireland’s tough stance on the war in Gaza, where he said Israel is behaving “like a rogue state”.

What was your mission and what do you think was accomplished?

The focus really has been on two things. First of all, building trades and enterprise opportunities between Ireland and India, and to build political collaboration. There’s a huge difference, of course, between the size of India and Ireland in terms of population. But if you look at what’s happening in the Irish economy and what’s happening here in India, there are a lot in common in terms of the application of technology, new digital platforms, pharmaceutical industry, medical devices, and the semiconductor industry, which Prime Minister Modi has decided to prioritise. Ireland is Europe’s largest producer of semiconductors. India-Ireland trade figures today are about 10 billion euros a year in terms of goods and services, but we think we can create much more trade between us. 

After Brexit, EU and India fast-tracked trade talks. Yet this week, India has signed an agreement with the EFTA countries, four non-EU countries, but there is still no agreement with the EU. Where are the sticking points?

Politics is the straight answer to that question. Ireland wants to see a free trade agreement between the EU and India. We think it would be hugely beneficial for India to be able to trade tariff-free with the largest consumer spend market in the world, which is the EU. We also think it would be hugely beneficial for the EU. Ireland understands the defensive interests that India has in agriculture, for example, because we also have a big agricultural industry and we would like to protect it in the context of free trade agreements.  

I think in truth, there are elections coming up in India, and in the EU, and when you lead into elections, it’s difficult to find compromise-positions. I hope when there’s a new European Commission in place in the late summer, and of course, when there’s political stability, post elections here in India, there will be an opportunity in the autumn of this year for the EU and India to try to accelerate progress on an FTA.  

This negotiation will be managed primarily by the European Commission. We have a pretty intense debate within the EU, and then the European Commission gets its negotiating mandate. We do have to make compromises in some areas that matter for India, but we also expect India to compromise in some areas that matter to the EU too. Given the global tensions and disruption to international trade that we’ve seen over the last number of years, from COVID, to conflict in Ukraine, in the Middle East, and in parts of Africa, the European Union is focussed on the importance of trade as a stabiliser for  good international relations. And we see India as a friend in this part of the world.  

Ireland has taken a strong position against Israel on the war in Gaza….did you discuss this with your Indian counterparts?

I think India has been a strong voice calling for a ceasefire now too, and I’m sure India will be a strong supporter of the humanitarian effort that’s going to be needed to try to avoid mass starvation and many other humanitarian challenges that the population that are trapped inside Gaza are feeling right now. Israel, of course, has the right to defend itself and its people. But I think what’s happened in Gaza has gone way beyond self-defence stage. I’ve said Israel is acting like a rogue state because they’re not listening to anybody, and they are not being guided by international law. We expect more from a democratic country like Israel than we expect from Hamas, which is a terrorist organisation. You cannot become a monster in order to defeat a monster.