EU team to arrive in Delhi on Monday for trade talks

Brussels, Oct 24 (IANS) A delegation of members of the committee on International Trade will be travelling to New Delhi next week, from October 27 to 29, to discuss trade, economic and investment relations between the EU and India, according to an official statement.

The delegation of seven members will be led by Cristina Maestre and Brando Benifei. Ahead of the visit, the two co-chairs stated: “The main objective of this visit is to contribute to increasing our mutual understanding amid intensive trade negotiations between the EU and India. The mission is timely, taking place just a few months ahead of the deadline to conclude negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement by the end of 2025. We look forward to discussing the issues at stake as both sides have a mutual interest in reaching a meaningful bilateral agreement and in protecting the rules-based multilateral trade order".

During the mission, Members of the European Parliament will engage with a variety of stakeholders in order to receive first-hand information on the opportunities and challenges posed by these trade negotiations, the statement said.

INTA Members are set to hold various meetings at both ministerial and parliamentary levels. Members will meet with the Federation of European Business in India and with the Confederation of Indian Industry. Other meetings will be organised with civil society working on sustainability issues and with workers and employers' representatives and organisations working on labour rights.

The International Trade Committee has been carefully scrutinising the negotiations between the EU and India to date, and any agreement reached would be subject to the consent of the European Parliament, the statement said.

Besides the two co-chairs, Cristina Maestre and Brando Benifei, the delegation is composed of Juan Ignacio Zoido, Waldemar Buda, Barry Cowen, Vicent Marza Ibanez and Angelika Niebler, Chair of the EP delegation for relations with India.

--IANS

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