India and the European Union in 2030 – building a closer economic relationship

There is a growing recognition that Europe and India would both enjoy considerable economic as well as geopolitical benefits from a closer economic relationship. It should be a win-win situation and failing to grasp it would be a considerable loss. The reality is, however, that many obstacles stand in our way. In fact, given present trends, not only would we not fulfil this potential but we may also even slide backwards in our relations. New unilateral policies, for example in procurement and data in both the EU and India, will make trade more costly and burdensome.

To build a better foundation for our trade relations the EU and India are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA); however, this is slow process without any guarantee of success. There is also a risk that a deal will lack meaningful real new business opportunities.

This report takes the perspective of what could be gained by 2030 by opening up both our economies to each other. It explores this both from an Indian and a European perspective and analyses not only trade and investment policy but also polices for sustainability, technology and security where they effect trade. The work has been carried out by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in India and the Jacques Delors Institute in France.