India, EU to conclude FTA talks by year-end, pending issues may need political call: Govt sources
CNBCTV18 - 28 August 2025
India, EU to conclude FTA talks by year-end, pending issues may need political call: Govt sources
By Abhimanyu Sharma
Government sources have indicated that India and the European Union (EU) look to conclude negotiations for a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the year-end.
While some movement is expected in the 13th round of FTA negotiations in India next month, sources added that guidance will be taken from Ministers on both the sides on remaining issues which may need a political call. EU’s Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is expected to meet India’s Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal during the scheduled talks next month.
Both sides had exchanged offers related to their services sectors during the 12th round of negotiations which concluded in Brussels last month. Key interest areas in the domain of market access for goods were discussed at the time.
In June 2025, government sources had told CNBC-TV18 that extra sessions were being held in the India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the frequency of meetings having increased from quarterly to monthly.
CNBC-TV18 had earlier reported that India and the EU were keeping options open for an early harvest deal, like the one India had signed with Australia. The early harvest deal will include issues like tariff and non-tariff barriers, Intellectual property rights, government procurement, technical barriers to trade, and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
India and the EU are pursuing a two-stage approach to finalise an FTA, apart from a bilateral investment protection agreement and recognition of geographical indications (GIs) with the 27-member bloc.
