India is a reliable, trustworthy partner: Senior EU Lawmaker Angelika Niebler

Angelika Niebler, Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with India, described her Delhi visit as highly productive and expressed strong optimism about India-EU ties. In an interview with WION's Sidhant Sibal, Niebler said India, EU are “on the same page right now.” She highlighted progress on security and defence cooperation alongside efforts to build a strategic partnership.

She particularly praised India as a trustworthy and reliable partner. “For us, the European Union, India is such a trustworthy partner,” Niebler said. She added that India is “a stable country and a very reliable partner” that offers “continuity” in a rapidly changing world.

On the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Niebler said the European Parliament is scrutinising the deal in a “very positive spirit.” She stressed the benefits of opening markets for nearly 2 billion people, which would boost prosperity for citizens in both India and the EU. She hopes the agreement can be finalised by the end of the year.

During her India visit, the senior EU lawmaker, along with her lawmaker delegation, met Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar & Trade Minister Piyush Goyal.

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How were your meetings here in Delhi?

We are happy to be here. We are a delegation of 11 members of the European Parliament, and we had these really excellent talks with our counterparts. It was very important to talk to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as Europeans believe in parliamentary democracy, and for that, it is very important for us to engage with our counterparts in the Lok Sabha. We are right now scrutinizing the free trade agreement with India. It was also important to talk to Dr Jaishankar and Mr. Goyal and to address some issues which are of interest for both of us.

How do you see, as a chair, the India-EU relationship?

Well, I'm very positive now, and we are so happy. I think it's really an EU-India moment, or even, I have to say, it's not only a moment. I think we are on the same page right now. A lot of things are happening. It's not only working together on the economic fields, but we also agreed on a security and defence cooperation, and there is an agenda being established that we go for a strategic partnership. Also, aligning with members in the parliament, this is important for us. So it's the moment right now. And if you look at what's happening in the world, I think it's a sort of blessing in the sky that we'll find out. Let's look at where we have common interests. Let's look at where we can move forward together. I think it's the right moment. We Europeans, like India, are looking for trustworthy partners in the world. For us, the European Union, India is such a trustworthy partner.

Trustworthy partner. You also mentioned the free trade agreement that has been a big focus in the India-EU relationship. When it comes to the Parliament processes or procedures, what can one expect?

It's our duty, actually, to carefully scrutinise the terms of the agreement. That's what we are actually doing now. But we are all in a very positive spirit. We know that it's now the time for moving forward, for looking for these really reliable partners in the world, and this is the spirit by which we are now engaging. I think you know, when we are both opening the market now for 2 billion people, when we get rid of the obstacles and barriers in this big market, this is to the benefit for the prosperity of citizens in India as well as in the European Union.

I know there are parliamentary processes. There are parliamentary procedures. Scrutiny is part of the parliamentary processes. But any timeline you're looking at, one could expect that approval can be given.

Parliament is parliament, you know. Every parliamentarian is an individual, of course. But looking at the strategic importance also of this partnership, I think we should head for at the end of the year, maybe finalising the agreement. That would be, I think, a good signal coming out also from the European Parliament, and coming back to our delegation. You know, we had only 11 members compared to the size of the European Parliament. We are 720 members of the European Parliament.

This is a small number, but looking at the diversity of our delegation, the 11 members are coming from different member states, from different cultures and traditions. We are all speaking different languages. We all belong to different political groups, so we have a broad range of colleagues, also attending the meetings yesterday and today. And that's why I'm really confident that we will positively support what has been agreed upon. Let me stress, it's the first step. So I think we should move on, and I hope for the future of our people. You know, we care about the citizens here in India and in our member states at home. So I think it needs to be done now, and we want to move on.

My last question to you, how do you see India, EU relationship, as a factor of stability at a time when there are so many wars and conflicts happening, your continent has the war, which is in fourth or fifth year. Now we have a war in West Asia that has dramatically increased the cost of energy across the world, and here in Asia, it's deeply impacting the lives of common people. So how do you see India, EU relationship as a factor of stability? How do you see the rise of India as well?

Well, actually, I think India is on its rise, so it will become one of the leading powers in the world. For us, I think, as you know, we both rely on parliamentary democracy. You know, this is important for us as parliamentarians. We see that aligning the policies, also on a global scale, is a good step forward. We realise that India is following a policy of multi-alignment, which is good. We do the same, actually. We also look out and look for other partners. India is a stable country and a very reliable partner. They are not; they are not jumping from one issue to another. You can see there is continuity, and that is very important for us. You know, to look for stability, also in this world, where things are changing so rapidly.