MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
17.9.2008
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Charles Tannock, Sajjad Karim, Mario Mauro and Tunne Kelam
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
on the preparation of the EU-India Summit (Marseille, 29 September 2008)
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0426/2008
B6‑0426/2008
European Parliament resolution on placethe preparation of the EU-India CitySummit (Marseille, 29 September 2008)
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the EU-India Strategic Partnership launched at placeCityThe Hague in November 2004,
– having regard to the India-EU Strategic Partnership Joint Action Plan of 7 September 2005,
– having regard to the conclusions of the Eighth EU-India Summit of 30 November 2007,
– having regard to its resolution of 29 September 2005 on EU-India relations: A Strategic Partnership[1],
– having regard to the Memorandum of Understanding between the EU and country-regionIndiaplace on the Country Strategy Paper for country-regionIndia for 2007-2010,
– having regard to the 3rd EU India Energy Panel, held on 20 June 2007,
– having regard to its resolution of 24 May 2007 on placeKashmir: present situation and future prospects[2],
– having regard to its resolution of 9 July 2008 on allegations of mass graves in Indian‑administered Kashmir[3],
– having regard to its report of 28 September 2006 on the EU’s economic and trade relations with country-regionplaceIndia[4],
– having regard to the address by the President of the placePlaceTypeRepublicPlaceName of India to the European Parliament of 25 April 2007,
– having regard to the work of the EU-India High Level Trade Group and its report of October 2006,
– having regard to the conclusions of the EU-India Round Table held in Paris on 15-16 July 2008,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas relations between the EU and placecountry-regionIndia are of long standing and have grown ever closer in recent years,
B. whereas the EU and placecountry-regionIndia share fundamental principles of democracy and are important partners in upholding democratic values throughout the world,
C. whereas the EU and placecountry-regionIndia constitute the two largest democratic entities in the world,
D. whereas the EU-India Strategic Joint Action Plan has served as the basis for increasing cooperation between the EU and placecountry-regionIndia since 2005,
E. whereas the annual EU-India Summit in New Delhi in 2007 reaffirmed the importance of the Strategic Partnership between the EU and India and their joint commitment to the values of democracy, fundamental freedoms, pluralism, the rule of law, respect for human rights and multilateralism in international relations,
F. whereas India has recorded annual economic growth in recent years of between 8 and 10%, marking it out as a country that is emerging as a major economic power and one which has made great strides in economic development; welcoming major advances by India in a variety of human development indicators, the emergence of a broader middle class approaching 100 million people, and India’s progress in becoming a donor as well as a beneficiary of development aid; expressing continuing concern at the huge disparity in incomes and the 300 million Indians who live in unacceptable poverty,
G. whereas as a result of current demographic trends the EU’s potential growth is set to decline; whereas, by contrast, India’s key comparative advantage is a large, young, trained, English-speaking competitive labour market,
H. whereas there is enormous linguistic, social and religious diversity in country-regionIndiaplace, and whereas both the EU and country-regionIndia strongly support cultural and social interrelationships encompassing many sectors and levels of both societies, including the same commitment to the promotion of cultural diversity,
I. whereas trade between the EU and India has grown exponentially in recent years, rising from €28.6 billion in 2003 to over €55 billion in 2007, and whereas EU foreign investment in India more than doubled between 2002 and 2006 to €2.4 billion; whereas India’s trade regime and regulatory environment still remain comparatively restrictive, and in 2008 the World bank ranked India 120th (out of 178 economies) in terms of the ‘ease of doing business’,
J. whereas the European Parliament and the Indian Parliament have established formal bilateral relations,
K. whereas the EU and India remain committed to concluding a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which is comprehensive, balanced and fully consistent with WTO rules and which provides for progressive and reciprocal liberalisation of trade in goods and services, as well as on trade-related issues; whereas an FTA will substantially benefit both economies, increase investment, overall exports and imports for both the EU and India, and give a valuable boost to global trade, especially in services,
L. whereas the EU and country-regionplaceIndia have developed close cooperation in the scientific and technology sectors,
M. whereas the EU and placecountry-regionIndia are committed to the eradication of all forms of terrorism, which constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,
N. whereas India has emerged as a major actor in the international community and one of the largest contributors to UN peace-keeping missions, and whereas this enhanced status should receive recognition from the UN in the form of a seat on the UNSC,
O. whereas India has an important role to play in the affairs of South and South-East Asia, notably through its membership of SAARC and ASEAN; having regard to India’s role in supporting the stability of the region, and noting in this connection its cooperation with the EU in Nepal and Sri Lanka,
P. whereas the country-regionUnited Statescountry-region and placeIndia have signed an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation,
Q. whereas a peaceful future for Kashmir remains an important goal for stability in placeSouth Asia,
R. whereas a wave of violence and a series of murders against Christians occurred in Orissa during August; having regard to the allegations that there was no effective intervention by the local police and that Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s leaders stated that violence would not cease until Orissa was totally free of Christians,
S. whereas climate change, energy use and energy security are of vital concern to the international community,
T. whereas the global explosion in fuel and food prices has created serious economic difficulty and raised concerns about the prospect of social unrest,
U. whereas placecountry-regionIndia is a participant in the EU Galileo project and the ITER project,
1. Warmly welcomes the convening of the Ninth EU-India Summit in Marseille on 29 September, a meeting which reinforces the importance that both the EU and placecountry-regionIndia attach to their developing relationship;
2. Reaffirms its strong support for the strengthening of the strategic relationship between the EU and India, and calls for concrete conclusions to emerge from the Summit on economic, political, security, trade and other issues of mutual interest;
3. Stresses the potential global significance of the EU-India relationship and urges both sides to recognise more fully the desirability of an ever closer relationship; believes that the EU-India strategic partnership confers a pivotal importance on this relationship;
4. Welcomes the adoption, at the Sixth EU-India Summit, of a Joint Action Plan to implement the EU-India Strategic Partnership, together with the joint political declaration, which moved relations between the EU and India to a higher and more meaningful level, in particular with regard to international peace and security, multilateralism, research, development, the environment, science and technology and human rights;
5. Notes that the EU and India intend to adopt a revised Joint Action Plan at the Summit; underlines the importance of giving real political substance to the joint actions proposed and of allocating sufficient resources to enable the priorities in the Plan to be fully realised;
6. Welcomes the establishment in June 2008 of the India-European Parliament Parliamentary Friendship Group, which will act within the Indian Parliament as a counterpart to the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with the Republic of India; expresses its strong hope that this initiative will lead to a substantive and meaningful dialogue between the two Parliaments on issues of global and common interest through regular bilateral visits and roundtable discussions, which will need to be adequately resourced;
7. Underlines its firm commitment to the establishment of a comprehensive, wide-ranging and ambitious Free Trade Agreement between the EU and India; notes that while negotiators have reached a broad consensus on trade in goods, further talks are required to find agreement on services, competition, intellectual property rights (IPR), public procurement, sustainable development, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and non-tariff barriers; urges both sides to work towards bringing negotiations to a successful conclusion by the end of 2008; notes the enormous increase in bilateral trade and investment over the past decade and emphasises the huge potential for further growth arising out of such an agreement;
8. Calls for the conclusion of a comprehensive FTA which will improve market access for goods and services, covering substantially all trade, and contain provisions on regulatory transparency in areas relevant to mutual trade and investment, including standards and conformity assessment, SPS, IPR, enforcement, trade facilitation and customs, public procurement, and trade and competition, as well as trade and development and human rights clauses as an essential element of the FTA;
9. Notes that the EU is an important source of foreign direct investment (FDI) for India, accounting for about 19.5% of India’s total FDI flows, and that India’s cumulative direct investments in joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries in the EU (from April 1996 to 2006/2007) amounted to EUR 4 315.87 million, making the EU the largest destination of overseas investment for India; recognises that investment flows between the EU and India have been rising, and are due to rise even more following the successful conclusion of the FTA;
10. Recalls that the EU and India are important trading partners and founding members of the World Trade Organization (WTO); regrets the recent collapse of the DOHA Development Agenda (DDA) multilateral trade negotiations and the dispute on agricultural tariffs between the US and India; notes that the costs of failure of the WTO negotiations would include: the loss of possible welfare gains from new WTO reforms; the serious threat that the credibility of the international trading system and the WTO will be undermined; and the possibility of expanding trade protectionism and the risk that WTO members will replace multilateralism with bilateral and regional agreements; urges the EU and India to renew their efforts to bring about a comprehensive trade deal that would benefit not only the EU and India but also the wider international community;
11. Notes the announcement on 28 August 1998 of an India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement; expresses the hope that the agreement will lead to further economic growth, strengthen regional political relationships and underpin security in placeSouth East Asia;
12. Calls on the EU and India to make good progress on concluding maritime and aviation agreements which would further boost bilateral trade and investment; states that the Summit will also provide an opportunity for signing the Financing Agreement on the new civil aviation cooperation programme;
13. Welcomes the establishment of the European Business and Technology Centre (EBTC) in India and notes that it will begin operations on 1 October 2008 with an initial budget of over EUR 8 million, of which the EU will contribute EUR 6.6 million, with another EUR 5 million expected in the next few months; supports the focus of its work on fostering links between Indian and European businesses and on science, technology, energy and the environment, particularly in the field of sustainable clean technologies,
14. Encourages the two sides to work closely together on the major environmental challenges facing the planet; urges, in this connection, the EU and India to develop as far as possible common approaches to the threat of climate change and a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; stresses the need for both sides to commit to a post-2012 agreement on GHG reductions while recognising the particular issues India faces as a developing nation;
15. Notes the soaring costs of global energy and the consequent impact on domestic consumers, business and industry; stresses the need for diversity of energy supply to be a major policy goal and emphasises the risks to political stability in Europe and South Asia posed by threats to energy security;
16. Notes the civil nuclear partnership agreement between the United States and India and the recent announcement by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) of a waiver enabling other nations to cooperate with India on nuclear issues; stresses that the Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver strongly reaffirms India’s commitment to non-proliferation and its ‘voluntary unilateral moratorium on further nuclear testing’; further notes the comments made on 9 September by the European Commission to the effect that European companies in the field of nuclear energy in India are well placed to compete in the Indian market; notes the agreement concluded between India and the IAEA on Non-Proliferation;
17. Calls on the Indian and Pakistan Governments to seize the opportunity potentially afforded by the recent political changes in Pakistan to renew political dialogue on outstanding issues, and in particular to strengthen confidence in the future of Jammu and Kashmir; welcomes the commitment to elections being held there in November 2008;
18. Expresses concern at the recent unrest in Kashmir, which has claimed over 40 lives; expresses its strong desire that all parties to the dispute may seek ways of lessening tension and promoting dialogue on the issues that gave rise to the protests; strongly condemns the unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and other human rights abuses which have occurred in Jammu and Kashmir since the beginning of the armed conflict in 1989;
19. Expresses deep concern at the recent attacks on Christians in Orissa, and Kandhamal district in particular; underlines the need to guarantee immediate assistance and support to the victims, including compensation to the Church for damage inflicted on its property and to individuals whose private property has similarly been damaged; urges the authorities to enable those who were forced to flee from their villages to return safely; stresses the need for all those accused, including senior members of the police, to be tried speedily through the judicial system; deplores the killing of at least 35 people since the outbreak of the violence, and calls on the state and national authorities to do all in their power fully to protect the Christian minority;
20. Welcomes the swift announcement by the European Commission of more than EUR 2 million in emergency relief funding for the victims of the floods in northern India and Nepal; expresses its solidarity with the people of Bihar following the disastrous floods; calls on the EU and UN to work with the Indian authorities to undertake research into the reasons why Indian rivers are changing course so dramatically so that the dangers of flooding are minimised;
21. Expresses its deep sympathy for the victims of terrorist bomb outrages in India; recalls in particular the deaths of over 180 people in Mumbai in 2006 and of over 60 people in Jaipur in May 2008, and, most recently, a series of bombs attacks in Delhi on 13 September; condemns these and all terrorist attacks;
22. Calls on the EU and India to make clear their joint commitment to dealing with the scourge of terrorism, which is one of the main threats to international peace and security; urges enhanced cooperation on intelligence-sharing, and requests that serious consideration be given to India having privileged status within Europol;
23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and its PlaceNameMember PlaceTypeStatesplace, the Commission and the Government of the PlaceTypeRepublicPlaceName of India.
- [1] OJ C 227 E, 21.9.2006, p. 589.
- [2] Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2007)0214.
- [3] Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2008)0366.
- [4] Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0388.