India–EU Push Ahead On FTA As Goyal Meets EU Trade Chief
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal held a high-level dialogue with the European Union’s Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič, during his visit to New Delhi on 8–9 December 2025. The meeting marked a significant step toward accelerating negotiations on the long-pending India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with both leaders aiming to provide strategic direction and inject fresh momentum into the talks.
The dialogue followed an intensive round of technical discussions held from 3–9 December in New Delhi across major chapters of the proposed FTA, including Market Access for Goods, Services, Rules of Origin, Technical Barriers to Trade and Trade & Sustainable Development.
This engagement was further reinforced by senior-level interactions between India’s Commerce Secretary and the European Commission’s Director-General for Trade on 7 December, demonstrating a shared commitment to advancing negotiations.
During the meeting, Goyal and Commissioner Šefčovič reviewed progress across multiple negotiation tracks and agreed on the need to maintain the current pace through sustained, constructive exchanges. Both sides stressed the strategic significance of concluding a fair, balanced, and ambitious trade agreement aligned with their economic priorities and shared commitment to a rules-based trading system.
The discussions highlighted India and the EU’s mutual interest in building a diversified, resilient, and forward-looking economic partnership. Commissioner Šefčovič’s visit was widely viewed as a pivotal moment in the ongoing dialogue, reaffirming the strong political will on both sides to resolve outstanding issues and work toward an early conclusion of a modern, comprehensive FTA.
