India-EU free trade pact likely by December .

Hyderabad, April 28 A high-powered visiting delegation of Parliamentarians from the European Union has expressed confidence that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) now under negotiations between India and the EU will be concluded before the end of the year.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, the delegation of representatives from European Parliament headed by Mr Graham Watson, said that the negotiations between the two are now under way at Brussels. Most of the issues have already been sorted out. “We believe that the FTA will be signed by the time EU-India Summit is held,” he said.

The delegation includes 12 Parliamentarians from Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Portugal and Austria. This team's mandate is to focus on improving bilateral ties between the two over the next five years.

Mr Watson said “the trade is the best way to cement relationships between countries as it facilitates better relations. The trade between India and EU is heavily loaded in favour of India and we expect that the EU contribution will go up progressively.” Apart from main areas of thrust which include climate change, countering terrorism among others, the broader areas identified for growth are generic medicines, textiles, energy, engineering and transportation related services, Mr Watson said.

“While we believe there are a few issues of mutual concern that need to be addressed, we are hopeful that most of these issues would be addressed before the signing up of the FTA,” he felt.

Asked if the entry barriers for trade with EU are a cause for concern for increasing the trade between the two, Mr Watson and other representatives felt that this is not a matter of serious concern. In fact, negotiations now under way will certainly help resolve them and help growth of trade.

The delegation witnessed Parliamentary proceedings on Tuesday and is now touring Andhra Pradesh to assess the progress made by the State in the areas of agriculture and allied sectors.

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker, Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy, was hopeful that the EU team will find the tour useful in understanding the progress made by the State in the recent past.

Source : Business Line