29/9/2006
European Parliament adopts report on economic and trade relations with India

Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on EU's economic and trade relations with India. The report calls on the EU to support India's international trade potential as well as efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in particular by stepping up trade-related aid to address infrastructure and administrative bottlenecks.

MEPs welcome both India and the EU's commitment to a successful and ambitious outcome of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).  Parliament calls to this end on India to use its position as leader of the G20 to reach, by the end of 2006, a balanced agreement favourable to development between the developed countries, the emerging economies and the developing countries. The report also notes that negotiations on the DDA are not incompatible with bilateral WTO+ negotiations.  The report notes that an outcome of a concluded Doha Development Round will reduce the value of schemes such as the GSP to developing countries like India, by further reducing the margin of preference they enjoy at present.  MEPs call on the EU to offer to enter into a free trade agreement with India, along the lines of its agreement with Chile, which provides for duty-free entry for the exports of both parties on a reciprocal basis, and calls on the High Level Trade Group to explore mutual opportunities in this regard.
 
US-India relations
 
Parliament notes that, whilst Indo-United States relations have been on an unprecedented high, taking in a civilian nuclear deal signed over a year ago, the current impasse on the DDA has soured relations between the two countries and trade relations have steadily deteriorated, with India blaming the United States for its refusal to cut agricultural subsidies before developing countries start opening their markets to non-agricultural products.
 
The House calls on the EU and India to lead the way in finding an expeditious and permanent solution on TRIPS and public health to facilitate access to essential medicines, within the Doha Development Round. MEPs welcome the steps taken by the Indian government regarding IP rules for medicines. The report encourages the Indian government to implement the law faster especially as regards exports of generic medicines.
 
EU-India co-operation
 
MEPs welcome the fact that the EU and India committed themselves to strengthening dialogue and engagement, including on human rights, as strategic partners at the sixth India-EU Summit on 7 September 2005, as reflected in the Joint Action Plan, which also includes development cooperation, giving importance to environmental sustainability and to social and economic cohesion.  MEPs ask that an ongoing dialogue be maintained in the field of human rights within the strategic partnership. The report in this context, congratulates India's National Human Rights Commission on its independent and rigorous work on these matters.
 
The report stresses that meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and combating poverty should remain a central element of the EU-India Strategic Partnership. MEPs welcome the fact that the next EU-India summit on 13 October 2006 will address the issue of the MDGs. The House calls urgently for specific measures to be taken to ensure that minorities such as Dalits and Adivasis and other marginalised communities, tribes and castes, are able to close the wide gap with the rest of the population regarding the attainment of the MDGs.
 
India's economic and social situation
 
Parliament notes that international trade can be a powerful driver of economic growth and poverty reduction, but it is not a magic bullet, and trade reforms are complementary to development policies. The House considers that to lift people out of pockets of poverty, and continue to climb the ladder of economic development, India needs to focus critically on building a business environment that deepens integration with the world economy in a widening range of manufactures and services.
 
MEPs note that there is a worrying lack of familiarity with the Indian market in some sectors of the EU business community; calls on the EU to engage more systematically with senior members of the EU business community, especially from SMEs, to bring about a 'step-change' in their perceptions about India by highlighting the very significant business opportunities that exist there.
 
Development and Environment
 
Parliament acknowledges the important successes of the Government of India in the eradication of poverty, but notes that despite sustained economic growth, vast inequalities still persist, with about 30% of the Indian population still living below the poverty line. MEPs are particularly concerned about the situation of underprivileged sections of the population, in particular women, children, the disadvantaged and the rural population, e.g. Dalits and Adivasis (indigenous tribes and peoples). The Parliament calls on the Commission and the Council to work together with the Indian government to improve the situation of those groups and to examine future cooperation as to their contribution towards ending gender and caste discrimination.
 
MEPs emphasise that successive Indian governments have made considerable efforts to tackle the issue of caste discrimination. MEPs believe however that much more has to be done.
 
Parliament urges the EU to promote and implement measures to ensure the socio-economic development of minorities, who have largely been excluded from the new economy in India and are discriminated against in development programmes and disaster recovery through, inter alia, the promotion of equal opportunities in employment in private EU-based companies and investors, the encouragement of Dalit-inclusive development programmes and the use of indicators to measure Dalit inclusion in the new economy.
 
The House notes that India's current administration has more openly acknowledged the problems posed by HIV/AIDS.  MEPs consider that the spread of HIV/AIDS has the potential to disrupt India's progress.  MEPs also note that limited access to health-care and low levels of awareness are responsible for its growing incidence. The report welcomes the fact that it has increased its funding and programmes to address the problems posed by HIV/AIDS and calls on the EU to assist India to scale-up programmes for individuals and communities at high risk. The House accordingly welcomes the work of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) in its activities for raising awareness among the rural and urban populations.
 
MEPs call for a parliamentary summit to be held annually to coincide with or immediately precede the annual EU-India summit, which usually takes place without the official participation of the European Parliament.  Finally, the report considers that such summits would make it possible to develop the links between parliamentary bodies, improve understanding of our differences and bring the democratic systems of both sides closer together.