The seeming tussle of views within the European Union, between foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude J
The seeming tussle of views within the European Union, between foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, respectively, were said to be a major reason for the EU maintaining a deafening silence to India’s request for a visit to Brussels by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ms Mogherini is a former Italian foreign minister and is obviously using her position to leverage the weight of the European Union to get the Indian government to agree to a trial of the two Italian Marines, accused of killing Indian fishermen in Indian waters, in Italy and not in India. However, it is obvious that the EU knows it will miss the bus in getting a share of the vast Indian market and is losing out to the Chinese, the Japanese and its own members, like Germany and France. Its economy also is already in the doldrums.
Messrs Tusk and Juncker are keen to resume negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) that has been stuck for eight years over high duties on European luxury car exports and auto components and wines. The Indian side has been pushing for a bigger role in the services sector for Indians, which was also a major issue at the World Trade Organisation. The latest media reports suggest that the chairman of the Delegation for Relations, Geoffrey Van Orden, a Briton, is coming to India in a bid to soften the environment for resumption of FTA talks. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.
