- 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
25-Feb-2011
Hindu Business Line
The EU’s proposed trade agreement is riddled with intellectual property provisions that would harm India’s 2005 Patent Act and block public-interest rulings such as the Aluvia decision.
23-Feb-2011
OS Blog
"It’s like an ant fighting an elephant. We are one of the weakest and poorest groups and they (the EU and the pharmaceutical industry) are among the richest and strongest."
21-Feb-2011
The Hindu
According to media reports, India wants up to 50,000 extra visas a year spread across EU’s 27 member-States under the proposed India-EU free trade agreement with Britain said to be under pressure to cough up 20,000 of these.
21-Feb-2011
Business Standard
Apart from intellectual property concerns, the EU is pushing for harmonisation of standards on medical devices and clinical trials, both of which may benefit large TNCs, in its free trade deal with India
18-Feb-2011
Hindu Business Line
EU is pushing India to relax controls on capital flows and conditions on investment, such as export obligation and local content requirement.
15-Feb-2011
CEO
Today, Corporate Europe Observatory launched a legal action, suing the EU’s executive in the EU General Court for withholding documents related to the EU’s free trade talks with India. The Commission is accused of discriminating in favour of corporate lobby groups and of violating the EU’s transparency rules.
15-Feb-2011
Reuters
Transparency campaigners have hauled the European Union’s executive to court for withholding documents about free trade talks with India, intensifying pressure on the bloc to make its policy-making less secretive.
8-Feb-2011
The Standard
Kenyan activists have written to the European Union and the Kenya Government, protesting what they term damaging trade agreements such as the European Union-India Free Trade Agreement and the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. They say the pacts would damage the fight against Aids.
1-Feb-2011
Madhyam
The EC recommendations contain several alarming policy provisions and therefore should receive public attention both in Europe and India. If implemented, these provisions would seriously undermine development priorities and restrict policy space to regulate investments in the public interest.
1-Feb-2011
Indian Express
Troubling news reports indicate that a newly-minted Free Trade Agreement
between the European Union and India would permit companies to circumvent
visionary safeguards built into India’s 2005 Patents Act, widely seen as one
of the most progressive patent laws in the world.
