On Wednesday (30 March 2016), the European Union hosted the 13th EU-India summit. The agenda of the high-profile meeting that took place in Brussels included energy and climate, trade and investment, water management, migration and foreign and security policy. Both sides used the opportunity to also reaffirm their commitment to building stronger mutual strategic partnership. The EU was represented by President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, while India was represented by its Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
During the meeting, both sides endorsed the EU-India agenda for Action 2020, which will set out a concrete road map for the next five years. The agenda includes a broad range of issues, such as foreign policy in areas of mutual interest, such as Asia, Africa, Middle East/West Asia, global humanitarian issues, gender equality, security, implementation of a mechanism to facilitate investment of EU businesses in India and climate, energy and environmental issues. Climate change and sustainable development were of special importance as both sides adopted a separate declaration on clean energy and climate partnership.
At the same time, leaders also embraced the re-engagement in discussions on how to move forward the EU-India Trade and Investment Agreement negotiations and established a common agenda on migration and mobility. Moreover, both sides used the summit as an opportunity for the European Investment Bank (EIB), the world’s largest multilateral public bank, to voice its support of long-term investment in India. The EIB and India also formally agreed on a €450 million long-term loan to finance the first metro line in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, and the bank also announced the opening of its first office on the sub-continent to ensure closer ties with public and private partners across the country. Both sides moreover adopted a joint declaration on counter-terrorism, emphasizing the need for a coordinated global response to this threat.
