EUROPE DAY

What is the historic message of Europe Day? How can that message be made relevant in India?

‘Europe Day’ celebrated on 09 May every year and is the anniversary of the Schumann Declaration. The visionary Robert Schumann, then Foreign Minister of France, speaking in Paris in 1950, proposed a new form of political arrangement for Europe, whose main aim was to make war between European states unthinkable. It has undoubtedly been a success and members since have enjoyed unprecedented levels of peace, prosperity and stability.

The EU has been a very successful project and it has shown to the world how countries can come together to achieve peace, prosperity and stability. This message of EU is relevant to all the regional groupings in the world.

EU-INDIA SUMMIT 2007 AND AFTER

What have been the main recent achievements in EU-India relations, especially since the last Summit of 2007 in New Delhi?

The main substantial achievements lie in the strengthening of the dialogue and cooperation in pursuing issues of common concern in a number of areas, including the field of foreign affairs. We have also seen the contacts between the EU and India spreading and intensifying beyond the formal meetings between officials and diplomats. And we have seen our economic and technical cooperation broadening and deepening with increased cooperation and contacts in science and technology, energy, climate change, information technology etc. Our trade and investment continue to expand both ways reaching €1.3 billion per week in 2007. I will also wish to highlight a few other areas: after several rounds of negotiation the EU and India initiated on 8 April, a Horizontal Civil Aviation Agreement that will provide legal certainty to the sector. The agreement is expected to be signed at the EU-India Summit in September. Preparatory work has also been done with a view to launching shortly dialogues in the areas of competition, IPR, accounting and financial services. Moreover, the European Investment Bank is in the process of finalising two large lines of credit to Indian institutions to finance projects in renewable energies and climate change mitigation.

The next Summit is scheduled for 29 September in Marseille under the Presidency of France in the European Union. This will be an important occasion to review our Joint Action Plan and decide the way forward.

BILATERAL TRADE

What are the initiatives to enhance bilateral trade with India?

The most important initiative that has been undertaken is the negotiation of a broad based trade and investment agreement aiming at eliminating obstacles to trade in goods, services and investments. Moreover it will also deal with non-tariff barriers and other regulatory obstacles to trade. This agreement will provide many new opportunities for private operators on both sides to tap the potentials that our economies have. At the same time the EU and India are both working together in the WTO to make a success of the current round of trade negotiations. Both of us believe that a strong, rules-based multilateral trading system is the bedrock of international trade and we are sparing no efforts to conclude this round. The EU has also some cooperation programmes providing trade related assistance to India, such as the successful Trade and Investment Development Programme covering up-grading of Sanitary & Phytosanitary (SPS) equipment, customs training and Intellectual Property Rights awareness. We are also regularly conducting SPS training seminars. So as you can see we are doing a lot to enhance bilateral trade.

EU AS A DONOR

The European Union is said to be the biggest donor in the world. Can you please briefly mention some figures?

The European Union (i.e. European Commission and Member States) is the largest donor in the world (54% of world Development Assistance) and its Official Development Assistance amounts to €93 per citizen (Japan: €44, US: €53). With €8,6 billion in 2007, the European Commission is the second largest individual donor in the 22 member strong group of donors organised in the OECD, in the so called Development Assistance Committee (DAC). In 2005, the EU Member States pledged that the volume of their aid will reach 0.56% of GNI in 2010 and 0.7% in 2015.

EU FUNDING

What is the progress of EU funded projects in India? Please mention some of the important projects?

Since it started its cooperation in India in the mid seventies, the EU has granted more than 2 billion Euros with “poverty alleviation” as the main objective. The EU main interventions today however no longer take the form of projects but they contribute to the Government of India’s main programmes in health and education through budget support (participation into the Sarva Shiksha Abhyian II and the Reproductive Child Health - II programme). Besides contributing to these sectors, the EU has also launched in 2006 State Partnership Programmes with Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh with a focus on respectively “water policy reform” and “governance”. In addition, I wish to highlight projects in the field of maritime transport, trade and investment, in the context of the EU-India Cross Cultural Programme, and of course the Erasmus Mundus higher education scholarship programme; all these projects are to support our Joint Action Plan.

AREAS OF COOPERATION

Which are the main sectors of cooperation between the two sides? What are the parameters and methodology of cooperation?

EU development cooperation in India has focused on poverty alleviation and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The EU adheres to the 2005 Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness that requires development cooperation to be aligned with national policies. The EU’s trust of aid is clearly in line with India’s priorities for development as exposed in the Five Year Plans. Our current strategy, whose time span is almost similar to India’s 11th Five Year Plan, is focusing on budget support to the social sector. In addition, we offer support to areas such as cultural cooperation, civil aviation, environment and higher education in the context of the EU-India Joint Action Plan.

Another major area of our cooperation is science and technology. India is one of a handful of countries with which the EU has a Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement and the European Union’s Research Framework Programme is open to participation by Indian research organisations and companies. And they do participate. In the last Framework Programme (2002-2006) more than 130 Indian organisations participated in more than 90 research projects funded by the EU.

Under the new Framework Programme (2007-2013) more than 400 Indian research organisations participated in research proposals submitted last year. Of these, 80 institutions were participants in proposals which were successful and received EU support – making India the third largest international partner of our Framework Programme in 2007.

But this is not all. In addition to Indian participation in the Framework Programme, there is also a strategic dimension to our S&T cooperation with India. This is based principally on symmetry, mutual benefit and the co-investment of resources, in areas of shared interest. The first of these efforts was the launch of the first EU-India Coordinated Call for Proposals in November 2007 in the field of Computational Materials Science, with the two sides putting up 5 million Euros each. This Call for Proposals has caught the imagination of the European and Indian research communities: 25 proposals have been submitted and each proposal involves at least 3 partners in Europe, and each counterpart Indian proposal involves at least 3 partners in India. It is expected that about 10 proposals will be funded.

In the coming years we hope to launch coordinated Calls for Proposals with co-funding from the EU and from India in areas such as food research, energy research and the environment.

CLIMATE CHANGE

What is the chief initiative at the Climate Change front?

Our priority is to work with India and other countries to combat climate change and its impacts via a comprehensive post-2012 multilateral framework agreement to be concluded in Copenhagen in December 2009. India agrees about the urgency of the climate change problem, but stresses the strong responsibility of the developed countries to take the lead to solving the climate change problem. The EU accepts this responsibility, is currently already below 1990 emission levels and has decided on 20-30 percent reduction targets for 2020 on 1990 levels. The EU also fully appreciates that India needs further economic growth, inter alia to fight poverty, but there is no conflict between these objectives and fighting climate change.

India and its industry have great potential to develop sustainable low carbon growth by being smart with energy, by developing new technologies and using alternative energy such as solar and wind.

At the bilateral level, the EU is determined to explore the potential for a joint contribution of India and the EU to this new multilateral framework. It will also step up efforts to facilitate the transfer of clean technologies and to increase interest of European industry to partner with Indian industry. In this context, I believe that the European Business and Technology Centre, which will be set up in Delhi towards the end of this year, will provide concrete support to our business and research community. At a more practical and operational level, the EU is interested in identifying positive incentives, actions and win-win policies that would further the cooperation with India.

EU BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY CENTRE

When is the EU Business and Technology Centre coming up in India? Please provide details on how it will accelerate the EU-India ties on business, trade, and technology sectors?

The European Business and Technology Centre is expected to be launched by the end of 2008. The objective with this Centre is to improve links between European and Indian businesses and with science & technology stakeholders involving business, industry and public bodies. This Centre will provide an ‘interface’ between public and private actors facilitating exchanges, partnerships and joint initiatives between European and Indian business executives and researchers/scientists. India has an important potential for the commercialisation of scientific and technological know-how. There are clear benefits to be gained by both EU and India.

EU ROLE IN SAARC

What will be EU role as observer in SAARC for regional cooperation?

The EU observer status allows for deeper involvement in the process. EU assistance to SAARC is also set to expand somewhat in 2008 as the programmes we have agreed upon progress towards implementation. For example, we are awaiting the approval of the eight SAARC member states’ to move ahead on a 2.5 million Euro programme in the area of standards and customs. This follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the EU and SAARC in 1996. An agreement was reached in 1999 to cooperate on four priority issues: market access for SAARC products to the EU; accumulation of rules of origin of SAARC products for exports to the EU; technical support for the establishment of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA); Support for harmonisation of SAARC standards. In the framework of the SAARC customs Action plan, technical assistance will be provided to the production of national blueprints for customs reforms and to the SAARC secretariat in overseeing the customs reforms process and to the design of a project in international transit control best practice.

The EU is also ready to actively assist the SAARC Secretariat and its new Secretary General, India’s Ambassador S K Sharma. The EU is prepared to help SAARC’s transformation into a structure for regional integration that can deal with global challenges like climate change, energy security or the fight against poverty. Last but not least, the EU is looking forward to participating in the next SAARC Summit scheduled to take place in July in Colombo.

WORKING WITH OTHER PARTNERS

10. Is there a plan to partner with civil society organisations like NGOs for achieving millennium goals in India?

The EU has a long tradition of partnering with civil society, especially in contributing to the achievement of the millennium development goals, and India is no exception. To have access to EU funding, civil society organisations have to apply in the framework of calls for proposals that set guidelines and domain of interventions such as poverty alleviation, education, health, fighting HIV/AIDS, environment, etc. The EU is currently supporting some such 60 social development NGO-led projects in India and we expect a few more, to be decided in 2008. Calls for proposals are systematically advertised on the Delegation’s website.

VISION

Finally what is the vision of EU for the coming years?

The EU is the largest trading power accounting for 20 percent of world trade in goods and 24 percent of world trade in services. In addition, the EU is a major donor with 54 percent of World Development Assistance. The EU has also become a global actor developing more and more its foreign policy as well as its European security and defence policy. In the coming years and when its new reform treaty will be in force (hopefully in 2009), the EU will be able to have a more coherent external/foreign policy with a High Representative for foreign and security policies who will be also the Vice President of the European Commission and who will have a European External Action Service (a sort of diplomatic service) to assist him/her. Climate change and energy security will remain high priorities where the EU will concentrate its efforts and play a lead role. Similarly, peace-building policies, ranging from peace making/peace keeping to sustainable economic development will continue to be major areas of EU intervention in Europe and around the world, as well as supporting developing countries in achieving MDGs.