EU, India Seek Closer Ties With “Mother of All Deals”

India and Europe hope to strike the “mother of all deals” when EU leaders meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi next week, as the two economic behemoths seek to forge closer ties, Umberto Bacchi reported for Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Bilateral trade in goods reached €120 billion ($139 billion) in 2024 — an increase of nearly 90% over the past decade. (Photo: Prime Minister's Office, Government of India)

Facing challenges from China and the United States, India and the European Union have been negotiating a massive free trade pact — and talks, first launched about two decades ago, are nearing the finishing line.

“We are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week.

Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will attend Republic Day celebrations on Monday before an EU–India summit on Tuesday, where they hope to seal the accord.

Securing a pact described by India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as “the mother of all deals” would be a major win for Brussels and New Delhi as both seek to open new markets in the face of US tariffs and Chinese export controls.

But officials have stressed that the agreement goes beyond commerce.

“The EU and India are moving closer together at a time when the rules-based international order is under unprecedented pressure through wars, coercion and economic fragmentation,” the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said Wednesday.

Bilateral trade in goods reached €120 billion ($139 billion) in 2024 — an increase of nearly 90% over the past decade — according to EU figures, with an additional €60 billion ($69 billion) in trade in services.