EU, India cement strategic
ties By K Gajendra Singh
BUCHAREST - India's global
significance received a major boost from the European Union this week
with the signing of a broad "strategic partnership"
agreement, a deal that will substantially tighten
economic and political ties between the two sides,
including the promotion of stability on the Asian
subcontinent, United Nations reforms, proliferation
and, of course, the fight against terrorism.
In a
joint press statement issued in The Hague on Monday after
the fifth India-EU Summit between Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and the EU team led by European Council
President and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende,
the two sides unequivocally condemned all forms of
terrorism and outlined a five-point action plan to
combat the scourge of terrorism and resolved to enhance
collective action to fight the proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction.
As part of the action plan,
the two sides will seek to step up international efforts
to combat terrorism, reduce the access of terrorists to
financial and other economic resources, ensure effective
systems of border control, address issues that create
an environment conducive to terrorism, and explore ways
to strengthen counter-terrorism dialogue by covering
other security-related issues. "The fight against
terrorism must be carried out in full respect of human
rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law," with
both sides continuing to "support the work of the United
Nations to ensure universal adherence to, and full
implementation of, all UN Security Council [UNSC]
resolutions", including the Comprehensive Convention on
International Terrorism, sponsored by India in the UN,
the statement said.
India and the EU would also
set up a mechanism for a dialogue on disarmament and
non-proliferation to signal their new strategic
partnership. The agreement says that disarmament and
non-proliferation are articles of faith for both sides
despite differences in approach. "India and EU are
resolved to be partners in promoting global peace and
security and remain committed to the goal of universal
disarmament." The two sides call for effective control
measures for dual-use goods - used for civilian and
military purposes - which can play an important role in
preventing proliferation.
Both sides observed
that their commitment to democracy, pluralism and rule
of law and to multilateralism in international relations
was a factor for global stability and peace.
Meanwhile, the EU expressed its interest in
the Indian unmanned lunar-exploration mission Chandrayan-1,
as the two sides agreed to support and encourage
cooperation between the Indian Space Research
Organization and the European Space Agency. The
25-member body also welcomed "the positive evolution" of
the relationship between India and Pakistan and said the
grouping looked forward its consolidation through
ongoing composite dialogue in an atmosphere free from
the menace of terrorism and violence.
The
signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement means
that India will become a special EU partner alongside
the United States, Canada, China and Russia. The EU is
both the leading foreign investor in India and its
biggest trading partner.
The European Commission
issued a communication to the European Council on June
14 outlining a policy for developing the "India-EU
strategic partnership". It recognized India's rapid
metamorphosis into a regional and global leader, playing
an increasingly important role on all fronts, and the
exponential growth in the scope and intensity of its
relationship with the EU, which necessitated a
re-evaluation of the existing framework and the
development of a partnership with a strategic edge.
Before leaving New Delhi for the summit,
Manmohan described India and the EU as natural partners,
and said, "In recognition of India's growing stature and
influence, the European Union has proposed a strategic
partnership with India. We warmly welcome the
development." He added that Europe was an important
political and strategic factor in the international
sphere. Recently the EU's membership went up from 15 to
25, thus erasing the fault line that had divided the
European continent for over a century.
The prime
minister said the EU was emerging as a politically influential,
economically powerful and demographical diverse
regional entity in the world, and that "our partnership
has evolved over the years from economic development
and cooperation to broad-based engagement on a
wide range of issues: globalization, terrorism, proliferation,
energy and environment." He added that the
EU "is an important source of technology and home to a
large and influential Indian diaspora". During his stay
at The Hague, Manmohan also had an interactive session
with prominent chief executive officers of the EU
business and industry sectors and senior representatives
of Indian industry to identify opportunities for greater
trade and investment in India.
A mutually
beneficial relationship Despite initial strident
criticism by some European countries over India's
nuclear tests in 1998, the EU now recognizes India's
"impeccable record in non-proliferation". The
upgradation of the EU-India relationship to a strategic
partnership is indeed a milestone in the history of
relations between the two sides.
While the
EU's support would be helpful in India's quest to join
the United Nations Security Council as a permanent
member, for the EU India could prove to be a
multilateralist ally in resisting what the EU perceives as US
unilateralism.
The EU also received a firm
commitment from India to participate in its
multibillion-dollar Galileo navigation-satellite project,
which is due to come online in 2008 as an alternative
to the United States' Global Positioning System. China
has put up 230 million euros (US$297.5 million) to join.
India had discussed a possible sum of 300 million euros.
Meanwhile, the United Progressive Alliance
government headed by Manmohan has announced that it will
set up economic zones with advantageous taxes, tariffs
and labor laws to encourage foreign investment.
Manmohan, who was the architect of Indian reforms in the
early 1990s and already has good rapport with the West,
is expected to cut red tape further and scrap rules that
restrict foreign investors to minority shareholdings in
sectors such as civil aviation and financial services.
EU-India economic relations
India first established diplomatic relations with the
EU in the early 1960s, when it was known as
the European Economic Community. Progress in economic
relations has been rapid. EU-India trade has grown from
4.4 billion euros in 1980 to 28.4 billion euros in
2003. Indian exports amounted to 14 billion euros
(covering mainly textiles/clothing, agricultural products
and chemicals) while exports to India amounted to 14.5
billion euros (covering mostly machinery and
chemical products). Indian exports benefit from reduced tariffs
under the Generalized System of Preferences. Trade with
the EU represents almost a quarter of Indian's
exports and imports, but it represents just 1.6% of total
EU imports of goods and 0.8% of services imports. The EU
invests 10 times as much in China and its trade with Beijing is
five times as great as that with India.
The economic
exchanges are covered by a number of agreements and
memoranda of understanding (MoU): Agreement on Trade
and Textiles, 1986 (amended in 1991 and 1992); MoU on
technical cooperation in electronics and new technology
signed in 1990; Third Generation Cooperation Agreement
on Partnership and Development, 1994; MoU on mutual
market access in textiles, 1994; MoU for an EU-India
economic cross-cultural program, 1996; Financing
Agreement on Support to Health and Family Welfare Sector
Development, 1997; and the Financing Agreement on
Maritime Transport, 1999.
A science and
technology agreement was signed in November 2001 that
entered into force in October the following year. It was
aimed at enhancing scientific cooperation with India and
extending it beyond the more traditional subjects. The
agreement covers sustainable development by themes;
health, agriculture, natural resources management and
includes a legal framework for the protection of
intellectual property rights. The Customs Cooperation
Agreement was signed on April 28, 2004. The scope of
this agreement is cooperation between the parties with a
view to simplifying customs procedures and developing
trade facilitation actions in customs matters in
accordance with international standards.
The
EU and Asia Together, the EU with its 25 member
countries is an indispensable partner for economic
prosperity and peace. The EU now has some 455 million
people with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of
10 trillion euros. It is in the EU's interest to
cooperate with the large up and coming economies of
Asia, more specifically China and India. The Asian
region now produces 23% of the global GDP, and that
share is rising. According to a report by Goldman Sachs,
the dollar size of the Chinese economy would surpass
that of the United Kingdom and Germany by 2007, while
India would surpass France by 2020 and Germany by 2023.
To meet the suffocating US challenge, apart from
ensuring that the EU remains a major economic player by
making full use of its internal market and implementing
social and economic reforms, it must develop a much more
comprehensive dialogue with Asia than it has done so
far. Europeans should see beyond a zero-sum choice
between human rights and trade. Asia's development is
good for Asia, good for the EU and good for the world.
Relations between the EU and Asia must be a matter of
give and take. Apart from international trade, Asia and
Europe must work together, for example, in an effective
and legitimate multilateral system, with a strong UN at
its core.
It is indeed difficult to justify low Asian
representation in the Security Council, when an EU with
less than half the population of India is represented
by two countries - France and the United Kingdom - and
could even have three of its members in it if Germany is
successful in its push for a permanent seat.
Also, Asia is an indispensable partner in
the struggle against the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction. China's important role in the
six-party talks over the Korean crisis is very important.
China has also supported EU efforts to resolve
peacefully US-Iran tensions over the latter's uranium-enrichment
program, but unfortunately China's role in
non-proliferation has also been questionable. Likewise,
the campaign against terrorism cannot be fought
successfully without cooperation between the EU and
Asian countries.
Problems within
The EU itself is facing many problems in the
wake of its continuing expansion. Many EU
diplomats involved in formulating EU foreign policy say that trying
to reach a consensus has become "a nightmare".
Since the historic expansion of the EU five months ago -
which brought in Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and
Slovenia - the new members are against other countries
wishing to join: Slovenia against Croatia, Cyprus
against Turkey and Hungary against Serbia. Formerly
communist members that used to take orders from Moscow are
unaccustomed to working in the give-and-take system of the EU. Meanwhile
the UK, whose entry was long opposed by former French
president General Charles de Gaulle in the 1960s, still
remains a kind of US Trojan horse.
The US
also tried to play new members such as Poland against older EU
members, calling the former the New Europe. The
differences between the US and France and Germany and
among EU member states came out in open during the
illegal US invasion of Iraq last year. Many new EU members
who joined with the US in the "coalition of the willing"
are now not that willing. The occupation is a quagmire,
and many now want to bring their troops back home. "It
has always been difficult reaching consensus among the
old 15 countries," said one EU diplomat, "but this time
it is different."
When the EU expands further
by adding Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey
(Bulgaria and Romania are on course to join in 2007; Croatia
will begin accession talks next year; and EU leaders are
due to make a decision in December on whether to
begin negotiations with Turkey), it will become even
more difficult to reach agreement. Of course, the
Christian nature of the EU and the tussle between the
Christian right and the secular social-democrat parties became a
running debate when the EU Commission recommended that
Turkey be given a date for commencing negotiations to
join the EU . The question of Turkey's admission into
the EU remains a Gordian's knot to cut.
K
Gajendra Singh served as Indian ambassador to Turkey
and Azerbaijan from 1992-96. Prior to that, he served as
ambassador to Jordan (during the 1990-91 Gulf War),
Romania and Senegal. He is currently chairman of the
Foundation for Indo-Turkic Studies and editorial adviser
with global geopolitics website Eurasia Research Center,
USA. E-mail Gajendrak@hotmail.com.
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