Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the 16th EU-India Summit in Delhi today. The EU will be represented at the summit by visiting President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
The summit will offer an opportunity to build on the strategic partnership between the EU and India and further strengthen cooperation in key policy areas such as trade, security and defence, clean transition and people-to-people cooperation, the European Council said in a statement.
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Presidents Costa and von der Leyen will also attend the 77th Republic Day celebrations on January 26 as guests of honour.
Negotiations on a free trade agreement are ending, the agreement will be announced later
Commerce Minister Rajesh Agrawal said on Saturday that negotiations on a trade deal between India and the EU have been successfully concluded. The formal signing of the agreement will take place after the legal clean-up, which is likely to take five to six months, and the formal signing will follow.
The secretary said that the agreement will be balanced, prudent and will help better economic integration with the EU. The agreement will boost trade and investment between the two sides, he said.
The summit will take place against the background of the positive dynamics of EU-India relations in recent years and the consistently high level–level of engagement in all domains. In October 2025, the EU Council approved the new EU-India Strategic Agenda and its aim to further develop relations between the EU and India.
Leaders at the summit are expected to adopt a joint EU-India Comprehensive Strategic Agenda, which aims to increase strategic cooperation between the two sides in four areas –
1) Prosperity and sustainability.
2) Technology and innovation.
4) Connectivity and global issues.
Speaking to Euro News ahead of the EU-India high-level summit, European Union Trade Commissioner Marcos Sefcovic said the long-awaited free trade agreement with India could significantly open the Indian market to European firms.
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Šefčovič described the future pact as the “mother of all deals” and noted that negotiators are “checking their final numbers” as the European bloc pushes to reduce India’s steep import tariffs, which can reach up to 150% in some sectors.
“In some sectors, India has a tariff of up to 150%. And that’s why a large part of the economy has been completely closed to European exporters,” he said, adding: “Now the opening of the economy will be a big advantage.”
FTA that started in 2007
Leaders at the summit are also expected to discuss trade in the context of ongoing negotiations on a free trade agreement that began in 2007 (and will be restarted in 2022), the council said. Such an agreement would strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties and promote shared prosperity, it said.
“Leaders will also focus on closer cooperation between the EU and India on security and defense issues, particularly in the context of establishing a security and defense partnership,” the statement said.
According to Šefčovič, the deal would create a free trade zone covering roughly 2 billion people and remove many of India’s tariffs on European goods, although sensitive sectors would be excluded to focus on a “positive outcome”.
“This is the biggest trade deal ever,” he said, pointing out that around 6,000 European companies already operate in India and trade between the two partners has grown significantly over the past decade, Euro News reported.
The leaders are also expected to discuss regional and global issues, notably: the importance of an effective multilateral system, a free and prosperous Indo–The Pacific, Russia’s war against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, the official statement said.
Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that a successful India makes the world more stable, prosperous and secure. Her words came after she witnessed the 77th Republic Day celebrations at the majestic Kartavya trail, a day before the India-EU summit.
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“It is the honor of a lifetime to be the chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations. A successful India makes the world more stable, prosperous and secure. And we all benefit,” Von der Leyen said on social media after the ceremony.
A successful India makes the world more stable, prosperous and secure.
PM Modi said that India was honored to host Costa and von der Leyen for the Republic Day celebrations.
“Their presence underscores the growing strength of the India-European Union partnership and our commitment to shared values,” he said.
