A European Parliament delegation led by David McAllister is visiting New Delhi to discuss the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, aiming to bolster strategic partnerships, trade, and economic cooperation before the expected year-end deal signing.
EU Delegation Visit to Strengthen Strategic Partnership
European Union Ambassador to India Jean-Eric Paquet said that he looked forward to the visit of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) delegation to New Delhi from October 26 to 28, ahead of the proposed signing of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA). In a post on X on Friday, Paquet said, “Look forward to the visit of @Europarl_EN Foreign Affairs Committee in New Delhi (26-28 Oct), ahead of FTA signing.” “Led by Chair @DavidMcAllister, they’ll be meeting Government, Parliament & business leaders to discuss how to further strengthen #EUIndia Strategic Agenda,” he added.
According to the official website of the European Parliament, a delegation from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, led by Chair David McAllister, will travel to New Delhi from October 26 to 28, 2026. The visit will mark the AFET Committee's “first official visit to India under the European Parliament's current mandate.” During the visit, members of the committee will meet representatives of the Indian government, Parliament, the business community, think tanks and non-governmental organisations to discuss the EU-India Strategic Agenda and “the main geopolitical challenges facing both partners.” The discussions will focus on “strengthening the EU-India strategic partnership and addressing shared challenges in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” according to the European Parliament.
Progress Toward the India-EU Free Trade Agreement
The upcoming visit comes as Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal arrived in Germany on October 22 with a large delegation comprising nearly 100 representatives from various sectors of Indian industry. During the visit on October 22, addressing an India-Germany business roundtable here, Goyal said the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), finalised earlier this year, would move towards signing quickly, expressing confidence that it could be signed before the end of the calendar year, subject to the requisite procedures. “You rightly mentioned Ms. von der Leyen’s comment about India and EU FTA being the mother of all deals. It took twenty years, but I can assure you the agreement really got finalised in the last thirteen months,” Goyal said. He said the conclusion of negotiations had been announced on January 27 and credited the commitment of India and the 27-nation European Union to completing the negotiations.
Long-term Economic Goals and Security
Earlier in October, Jean-Eric Paquet said the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would be “an absolute game changer for India and Europe”, highlighting its potential to strengthen trade, investment and supply chains alongside deeper cooperation in defence and economic security. Addressing the Annual Session and Champion Awards 2026 of the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) in New Delhi on Friday, Paquet said India and the European Union aimed to conclude the FTA by the end of 2026 and bring it into force in 2027. “What lies ahead is the signing of the Free Trade Agreement. In principle, we aim to conclude the FTA by the end of this year and intend to bring it into force in the course of 2027. This is an absolute game changer for India and Europe,” he said.
Paquet said he hoped the FTA would be accompanied by an Investment Protection Agreement, which is currently under negotiation, adding that the two agreements could create a common economic space between India and Europe. “Together, the FTA, the mother of all these initiatives and the Investment Protection Agreement would create a single economic space spanning India and Europe. Within this space, we could trade more freely, strengthen supply chains through trade and investment, make them more resilient and reduce strategic dependencies,” he said. (ANI)
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