Page 2 - European Union

India's exports of petroleum products touched record high in 2025

This despite West sanctions on Russian oil and Suez Canal hurdles

India, EU ask officials to fast-track talks to seal free trade agreement

India and EU trade ministers have directed officials to resolve pending issues and expedite the negotiations to finalise the proposed free trade agreement, an official statement said on Saturday. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic met in Brussels and took stock of progress of negotiations. The two-day visit of Goyal concluded on January 9. "Both leaders provided guidance to negotiating teams to resolve pending issues and expedite the agreement," the commerce ministry said. The meetings focused on reviewing the progress achieved across various negotiating tracks including Market Access for Goods, Rules of Origin, and Services. The ministerial engagement was preceded by high-level discussions between Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and Director-General for Trade, European Commission Sabine Weyand, on January 6-7, 2026. The officials worked to "narrow divergences" and ensure clarity on outstanding issues,

India, EU hold FTA talks, reaffirm commitment to protect farmers, MSMEs

India and the European Union (EU) on Friday held talks in Brussels on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based trading framework and a modern economic partnership that safeguards the interests of farmers and MSMEs. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is on a two-day official visit to the EU headquarters for the talks. He has held high-level talks with EU Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Sefcovic for securing a mutually beneficial FTA. "During this dialogue, we deliberated across key areas of the proposed agreement. We reaffirmed our commitment to a rules-based trading framework and a modern economic partnership that safeguards the interests of farmers and MSMEs while integrating Indian industries into global supply chains," Goyal said in a social media post. The ministerial engagements follow a week of intensive deliberations in Brussels, building upon the groundwork laid during high-level discussions held earlie

Cloudy skies over US-EU trade deals: India prepares for headwinds

Amid political turmoil in the US and EU, India's hopes of quick trade deals face growing uncertainty, calling for realism and preparation for worst-case scenarios

ECB Prez Lagarde hails Bulgaria joining Euro as symbol of Europe's unity

The Balkan nation of 6.4 million people just completed its economic transformation and became the latest country to join the world's biggest currency zone

2026 to bring data, policy, tax changes; labour codes, CBAM to take effect

With new GDP, CPI and IIP base years, sweeping tax reforms, GST overhaul, labour code rollout and EU's carbon tax, 2026 is set to reshape India's economic, regulatory and labour landscape

EU's carbon tax to kick in from Jan 1, may hurt Indian exporters: GTRI

The European Union's (EU) carbon tax on certain metals will come into force from Thursday and is expected to hurt India's steel exports, think tank GTRI said on Wednesday. The 27-nation bloc is imposing this tax on goods that emit carbon during the manufacturing process. In steel, emissions are highest for Blast Furnace -- Basic Oxygen Furnace (BFBOF) routes, lower for gas-based Direct Reduced Iron (DRI), and lowest for scrap-based Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) routes. Similarly, in aluminium, electricity source and power intensity are critical. Power generated from coal significantly raises the carbon burden and, therefore, the CBAM cost. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that many Indian exporters may have to cut prices by 15-22 per cent so EU importers can use that margin to pay the CBAM (carbon border adjustment mechanism) tax. Indian exporters will not pay the tax directly as the EU-based importers -- registered as authorised CBAM declarants --have to buy CBAM ...

China, EU lead Russian fuel purchases as India suffered despite cuts

India has gained the least since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and was penalized the most, while the US, China and the European Union emerged as the biggest beneficiaries from the war

US imposes visa bans on ex-EU commissioner Thierry Breton, and 4 others

In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleged that the five Europeans had 'advanced censorship crackdowns' against 'American speakers and American companies'

Europe slams visa bans as US takes fresh swing at allies over 'censorship'

In Brussels, Paris and Berlin, senior officials condemned the US bans, and defended Europe's right to legislate on how foreign companies operate locally

China to impose up to 42.7% provisional tariffs on EU dairy products

China will impose up to 42.7 per cent of provisional tariffs on dairy products, including milk and cheese imported from the European Union, its Commerce Ministry said on Monday. The elevated duties, which take effect Tuesday, were based on preliminary results from an investigation opened by China's Commerce Ministry in August 2024 as tensions between Beijing and Brussels flared. Beijing reviewed subsidies provided by EU countries for their dairy and other farm products. Beijing's probe was launched as part of tit-for-tat measures as the EU investigated Chinese subsidies on electric vehicles, and later imposed tariffs as high as 45.3 per cent on China-made EVs. China had initiated other probes into European brandy and pork imports as countermeasures for the EU's tariffs on Chinese EVs. It had also urged the EU to scrap its EV tariffs. The temporary duties on EU dairy imports will range from 21.9 per cent to 42.7 per cent, according to the Commerce Ministry, and will cover a basket o

Piyush Goyal to make final push for India-EU discussions in new year

Government officials said that India and the EU are continuing to engage with each other to narrow the differences and close the free trade agreement (FTA) talks at the earliest

EU leaders agree to $106 bn loan to Ukraine for 2026-2027 amid peace hopes

EU leaders were under intense pressure to agree to the massive loan for Ukraine at the make-or-break summit after months of talks failed to break the deadlock over the contentious plan

EU leaders meet to discuss agreement on massive loan package for Ukraine

European Union leaders are gathering Thursday for a summit aimed at agreeing on a massive loan to cover Ukraine's military and other financial needs for the next two years. The leaders will also discuss migration, the bloc's enlargement policy, trade and economies, but working out how to fund most of the 137 billion euros (USD 160 billion) the International Monetary Fund says war-ravaged Ukraine needs is top priority. It is up to us to choose how we fund Ukraine's fight. We know the urgency. It is acute. We all feel it. We all see it," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers on the eve of the summit. European Council President Antonio Costa, who is chairing Thursday's meeting in Brussels, has vowed to keep leaders negotiating until an agreement is reached, even if it takes days. Many leaders will press for tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets held in Europe to be used to meet Ukraine's economic and military needs. Such a decision has neve

EU to expand carbon levy on high-emission imports, tighten loopholes

The EU also wants to clamp down on foreign companies if there is evidence they are under-reporting their emissions to dodge the levy

EU moves to ease 2035 ban on internal combustion cars amid auto sector woes

European officials on Tuesday moved to ease their ban on sales of cars with internal combustion engines by 2035, responding to pressure from governments and automakers who argued that the industry needed more flexibility in finding ways to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and help achieve EU climate goals. The proposal from the EU's executive commission would change provisions of 2023 legislation requiring average emissions in new cars to equal zero, or a 100% reduction from 2021 levels. The new proposal would require a 90% emissions reduction. That means in practical terms that most cars would be battery-only but would leave room for some cars with internal combustion engines. Automakers would have to compensate for the added emissions by using European steel produced by methods that emit less carbon, and through use of climate neutral e-fuels made from renewable electricity and captured carbon dioxide and biofuels made from plants. EU officials say changing the limit will not .

Indian cement firms most exposed to CBAM risk: World Economic Forum

The study, which examines corporate readiness in Brazil, China, India and South Africa for CBAM, finds no evidence so far of broad competitiveness losses for exporters from these economies

EU's decision to freeze assets undermines Ukraine peace efforts: Russia

Russia on Saturday said the EU's decision to indefinitely freeze Russian sovereign assets is a targeted attack on peace efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, adding that Moscow would shortly take retaliatory steps. On Friday, the European Union Council decided to "prohibit, on a temporary basis, any transfers of Central Bank of Russia assets immobilised in the EU back to Russia." In a statement, it said the decision was taken as a "matter of urgency to limit damage to the Union's economy." Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a press statement said that the timing of the EU decision shows that Brussels is seeking to undermine efforts to settle the Ukraine conflict, by delivering a direct blow to the peace initiatives of US President Donald Trump. Brussels is carefully concealing the fact that it will be citizens of EU countries who will ultimately pay for these political ambitions. Our retaliatory actions will follow shortly, Zakharova said. Responding to var

EU to indefinitely freeze Russian assets, removing obstacle to Ukraine loan

The loan would be paid back by Ukraine only when Russia pays Kyiv war damages, making the loan effectively a grant that advances future Russian reparations payments

EU nations open door to faster migrant removals and tougher rights limits

European governments open the door to revising long-standing protections for migrants as political pressure mounts, despite a fall in irregular border crossings this year