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2. India and the European Union

 

2.1. Background♤ The EU is also the largest destination for Indian exports and a key source of the investment and cutting edge technologies.down a road map for cooperation on a wide range of issues including nuclear cooperation, investments, Internet Governance, climate change, 5G communications.2.2. Political and Security Cooperation♤ The 14th annual Summit between India and the European Union (EU) was held in New Delhi on 6 October 2017.♤ India and the EU interact regularly at the Foreign Minister level.2.3. Economic Cooperation and Trade♤ The EU as a bloc of 28 countries is India’s largest regional trading partner while India was♤ In 2015, the trade balance in goods was in India’s favour by €1.3 billion ($1.44 billion).♤ The India-EU Joint Commission dealing with economic and commercial issues meets annually, as do its three Sub-Commissions on Trade, Economic Cooperation and Development Cooperation.2.4. Science, Technology, Energy and Environment2.5. Education and Culture♤ 50,000 Indian students are in EU in higher education, with 5,000 having been provided ERASMUS scholarships.♤ These negotiations, covering trade, investment protection and intellectual property, have remained deadlocked since 2013.♤ EU wants stringent measures on investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) and Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary measureso India had unilaterally terminated BITs with most EU members in 2017, asking them to renegotiate the treaty based on a new model BIT passed by the Cabinet in December 2015.o intellectual property rights,♤ The EU, besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles, wants tax reduction in wines, spirits and dairy products, and a strong intellectual property regime.2.6.2. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures♤ Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures are measures to protect humans, animals, and plants from diseases, pests, or contaminants.