Unprecedented visit: A whole-of-govt approach needed for India-EU ties

Resetting relations between two large, complex, and heavily regulated economies needs to be read from a much broader perspective

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, alongside the entire European Union College of Commissioners, will visit India this week. This is a highly unusual event, and one of the first such meetings after the new Commission took office in December last year. It is being seen, both in Brussels and New Delhi, as an indication of the importance that the Commission, which will have a mandate for five years, gives to the India-European Union relationship. Much attention will naturally focus on whether this will be able to push forward negotiations on a free-trade agreement between India