- Negotiations
The European Union and India launched negotiations on a bilateral free trade and investment agreement in June 2007. However, between the governments, a number of controversies have been plaguing the talks. Delhi wants Brussels to relax its stringent food safety criteria which penalise Indian farm and fishery exports and to make it easier for Indian professionals to work in the EU. Europe is primarily out to win major openings of India’s services sector and broad liberalisation of foreign investment, while India does not want to discuss allowing European firms to compete in India’s government procurement market.
Indian social movements, including fisherfolk and labour unions, people living with HIV/AIDS and other health activists have been mobilizing against the FTA. International actions and campaigns have particularly targeted the proposed intellectual property provisions of the agreement, and the impact of the FTA on access to medicines.
last update: May 2012
Photo: MSF
13-Jan-2026
Reuters
German Chancellor floated the possibility that the European Union and India could sign a landmark free trade agreement by the end of January, a move that could reshape global trade ties as protectionism rises and US-India talks remain stalled.
9-Jan-2026
Khmer Times
France, Germany, and Poland called for the swift signing of a free trade deal between the EU and India, describing it as a “decisive step” in relations, the French foreign minister said.
5-Jan-2026
Financial Express
With India-EU free trade agreement negotiations in final stages, Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal will visit Brussels this week for what could be the last set of meetings between the trade leadership of both sides on the talks before the India-EU Summit later this month.
15-Dec-2025
The Financial Express
The European Union, led by Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, has kicked off intense two-day negotiations with India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to finalize a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) before the year-end deadline.
4-Dec-2025
Business Standard
India and the European Union (EU) to finalize the revamped India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of 2025. Of the 23 chapters under negotiation, 11 have been completed, with key discussions ongoing in areas such as market access for cars, steel, services, investment, and technical trade barriers.
2-Dec-2025
Fortune India
Twelve chapters have been concluded, and both sides are working intensively to close the remaining eight. The aim is to finalize the agreement by the end of 2025, with a formal signing expected at the India–EU Summit in January 2026.
26-Nov-2025
Business Today
India and the European Union have pushed their long-running free trade talks back to the centre of their partnership, reaffirming a shared goal to conclude negotiations on the FTA by the end of this year. The joint statement reaffirmed ambitions to finalize the FTA, accelerate negotiations on an Investment Protection Agreement, and conclude a Geographical Indications agreement.
5-Nov-2025
Financial Express
India and the European Union (EU) on Monday resumed negotiations on their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with a team from Brussels arriving here. The talks will last till the end of the week and may aim to sort out the remaining differences so that the deal is ready by the end of this year.
29-Oct-2025
The Times of India
The talks were described as productive, with both sides reviewing unresolved areas within the negotiations and identifying what they termed “possible landing zones” on pending issues.
27-Oct-2025
Live Mint
India and the EU have intensified efforts to finalize the long-awaited free-trade pact. A key sticking point is the EU’s demand for tighter origin norms to ensure third-country goods don’t enter the bloc through India.
