RISING SUN
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Will EU take note of India’s pacts with other big partners?
The 14th India-EU summit on October 6 is being held when Europe is going through a troubled phase. Until recently, Europe represented an example of a continent overcoming its violent past to become an area of peace and stability.
Member countries had pooled sovereignty in collective EU institutions to build shared prosperity. The success of its model made Europe a torchbearer of values based diplomacy worldwide. Today, Europe’s image is different. The European project is under stress with Brexit, massive refugee flows, the rise of nationalist parties, terrorist attacks by local radicalised Muslims, the emerging values-gap between west and east Europe, low growth rates, high unemployment,prolonged eurozone crisis, tensions with Russia and so on.
These challenges are being addressed. The European project is being reinvigorated with French president Macron together with Germany’s Merkel, though her electoral setback, with the unprecedented success of the far right, just when it was earlier rebuffed in the Dutch and Austrian elections, has put a spanner in the works. The EU as a block is India’s biggest trade, investment and technology partner, but many vital aspects of our relationship with Europe, such as defence, nuclear and space issue, do not pass through Brussels.
On key foreign policy issues, be it terrorism, Pakistan’s role in promoting it, the implications of China’s rise, its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the China-Pakistan nexus, the security of the Indian Ocean, joint military exercises, our Security Council aspirations, NSG membership and so on, we have to go beyond Brussels and engage individual European capitals.
At the October 6 summit, the European Council president, Donald Tusk, the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, will represent the EU’s consensus view on relations with India. Going by past experience support from Brussels on issues of core interest to us may not be as forthright as lately from individual European capitals.
Therefore, how the India-EU summit statement reflects areas of agreement or fails to note them frontally in some cases will be of interest. Success will be judged by the extent to which formulations included in our joint statements with our other major partners get registered.
Will the Hizbul Mujahideen be declared a terrorist organisation and cross-border terrorism mentioned as in the case of our joint statements with the US, Spain and Japan? Even the UAE has agreed to robust formulations on terrorism with India. The US and Japan have joined us in implicitly questioning the modalities of China’s implementation of its BRI project, including sovereignty-related issues.
Will Brussels do so, given that the EU did not endorse the Beijing BRI Forum’s final statement because of China’s lack of reciprocity on economic issues?
Europe and India differ from the US on the Iranian nuclear deal and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Modi’s International Solar Alliance project has strong French support. After Trump’s speech the Afghanistan has gained new salience. There is increased recognition by some major European countries of the growing strategic threat from China, including in the South China Sea as well as the Indian Ocean region. On North Korea, India and Japan asked for accountability from those suspected to have given Pyongyang nuclear and missile sinews.
The Rohingya exodus from Myanmar has become an emotive issue. How all this will get reflected in the summit document will be watched. Finally, how much push will the summit give to the languishing India-EU Free Trade Agreement? Can the EU accept India’s core demand for easier movement of professionals in the current European environment?
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ig-partners/articleshow/60931441.cms?from=mdr
The 14th India-EU summit on October 6 is being held when Europe is going through a troubled phase. Until recently, Europe represented an example of a continent overcoming its violent past to become an area of peace and stability.
Member countries had pooled sovereignty in collective EU institutions to build shared prosperity. The success of its model made Europe a torchbearer of values based diplomacy worldwide. Today, Europe’s image is different. The European project is under stress with Brexit, massive refugee flows, the rise of nationalist parties, terrorist attacks by local radicalised Muslims, the emerging values-gap between west and east Europe, low growth rates, high unemployment,prolonged eurozone crisis, tensions with Russia and so on.
These challenges are being addressed. The European project is being reinvigorated with French president Macron together with Germany’s Merkel, though her electoral setback, with the unprecedented success of the far right, just when it was earlier rebuffed in the Dutch and Austrian elections, has put a spanner in the works. The EU as a block is India’s biggest trade, investment and technology partner, but many vital aspects of our relationship with Europe, such as defence, nuclear and space issue, do not pass through Brussels.
On key foreign policy issues, be it terrorism, Pakistan’s role in promoting it, the implications of China’s rise, its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the China-Pakistan nexus, the security of the Indian Ocean, joint military exercises, our Security Council aspirations, NSG membership and so on, we have to go beyond Brussels and engage individual European capitals.
At the October 6 summit, the European Council president, Donald Tusk, the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, will represent the EU’s consensus view on relations with India. Going by past experience support from Brussels on issues of core interest to us may not be as forthright as lately from individual European capitals.
Therefore, how the India-EU summit statement reflects areas of agreement or fails to note them frontally in some cases will be of interest. Success will be judged by the extent to which formulations included in our joint statements with our other major partners get registered.
Will the Hizbul Mujahideen be declared a terrorist organisation and cross-border terrorism mentioned as in the case of our joint statements with the US, Spain and Japan? Even the UAE has agreed to robust formulations on terrorism with India. The US and Japan have joined us in implicitly questioning the modalities of China’s implementation of its BRI project, including sovereignty-related issues.
Will Brussels do so, given that the EU did not endorse the Beijing BRI Forum’s final statement because of China’s lack of reciprocity on economic issues?
Europe and India differ from the US on the Iranian nuclear deal and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Modi’s International Solar Alliance project has strong French support. After Trump’s speech the Afghanistan has gained new salience. There is increased recognition by some major European countries of the growing strategic threat from China, including in the South China Sea as well as the Indian Ocean region. On North Korea, India and Japan asked for accountability from those suspected to have given Pyongyang nuclear and missile sinews.
The Rohingya exodus from Myanmar has become an emotive issue. How all this will get reflected in the summit document will be watched. Finally, how much push will the summit give to the languishing India-EU Free Trade Agreement? Can the EU accept India’s core demand for easier movement of professionals in the current European environment?
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ig-partners/articleshow/60931441.cms?from=mdr
