On the one hand, the global market is in a recession, so a free trade agreement between India and the European Union could certainly be beneficial.
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A 2012 case involving two Italian sailors was a hot topic. Only then did relations between India and Italy deteriorate somewhat. As a result, negotiations on a free trade agreement stalled. At the same time, former Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini was selected as the High Representative for the European Union's Foreign Affairs Department. And then the situation literally simmered. Because at that time, the case of the alleged murder of two Indian fishermen on the shores of Kerala by two Italian sailors reached the European Union. Due to this incident, the situation deteriorated to such an extent that the planned summit between the European Union and India in 2015 could not take place.
After these incidents from 2012 to 2015, a lot of water has gone under the bridge. Much has changed. Importantly, relations between the European Union and India have also improved. However, there are plenty of questions yet unanswered. But the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and the High Level Representative of the European Union, in the medium term, have, once again, tried to restore relations between India and the European Union.
The interests of India and the European Union are almost identical in the face of the rapidly changing global equations. This is one of the main reasons why the relationship between the two is improving. Bhaswati Mukherjee's description of these developments is significant.
In fact, it would be hasty to evaluate the outcome of many new projects or schemes right now. This is because in reality, a large number of high-level meetings and services over the last few years, as well as a number of joint decisions and statements, played a crucial role materialising it. This has given us a glimpse of the resumption of strategic political relations between the European Union and India. The 13th summit of the European Union and India was held in Brussels in 2016 (this was the first summit after a four-year hiatus). The India-EU-Agenda for Action 2020 was presented at the conference. From which a clear outline of the future course of political and strategic relations between the two sides was presented.
The India-EU-Agenda for Action 2020 is a comprehensive document of this conference. At the beginning of the program, the foreign and security policy areas are mentioned. The last few years have seen great progress in these areas. Among other important issues, the program covers international counter-terrorism cooperation, cybercrime and maritime security, as well as ongoing dialogue with India's Ministry of External Affairs and the European External Action Service (EEAS).
It is worth noting that the program also mentions Prime Minister Narendra Modi's favorite initiatives, "Cleaning the River Ganga", "Smart City", "Digital India" and "Make in India". The joint statements issued by the two so far have covered areas such as "fight against terrorism", "clean renewable energy and climate partnership", "water partnership", as well as "migration and relocation (CAMM)" with a joint program. Due to the continuous follow-up of all these processes, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Water Partnership was signed between India and the European Union in 2016. The two also had a high-level dialogue in April 2017 in Brussels on "migration and relocation".
Of course, surprisingly, the much-awaited Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) is not mentioned in the agenda. Importantly, there were two meetings of senior officials from both sides in 2017 and 2018 for this agreement, besides three rounds of technical dialogue to resolve issues related to this agreement, but nothing came of it. To some, the whole thing seems to be a "fraudulent process." Indian Ambassador Bhaswati Mukherjee has said that many concerned ministries in India feel that the Bilateral Trade and Investment Treaty (BTIA) is not as beneficial to India at present. Nevertheless, the two are important trading partners on the world stage, and the volume of trade between the two continues to grow. (See Figure 9)
The summit of the European Union and India was held in Delhi in October 2017. The summit also appears to have undone the process of regular discussions and consultations. Apart from that, looking at the developments in this conference, it seems that the scope of the areas identified in the previous conference in terms of mutual cooperation became clearer this time, and it increased. As a next step in this, in 2018, there were new rounds of dialogue on terrorism and cyber crime. In addition, an informal meeting on maritime security was held.
Importantly, for the first time, some important steps were taken in terms of military cooperation. In 2017, a joint exercise was held off the coast of Somalia between the Indian warship INS Trishul and the Italian warship Fasan. In December 2018, India supported the United Nations Food Program. Also in January 2019, as part of the European Union's anti-piracy operation Atlanta, the French destroyer FNS Cassard with the EU flag arrived in Mumbai.
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