Page 67 - European Union

India-EU free trade agreement to promote economic ties: Sanjiv Puri

Signing of free trade agreement between India and the European Union would help promote economic ties between the region and New Delhi. Vice President CII and Chairman and Managing Director, ITC Ltd, Sanjiv Puri, emphasised that signing of India-EU free trade agreement could be a catalyst for further enhancing India-Italy relationship, the commerce ministry said in a statement. He was speaking at the CEOs Business Interactive session organised here in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Confindustria on April 13. He was accompanying commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal here. Goyal had meetings with CEOs of some prominent Italian companies like SOL, SpA, Piaggio, CIBJO, Nayara Energy and Enel Green Power. The minister explained to them the investment climate in India, the policy reforms and the potential of investing and expanding in India. The CEOs informed the minister that they were looking at expanding operations in India for catering to the

EU cannot 'blindly follow' Washington, says European Council president

More and more European Union leaders have echoed Macron's comments that Europe should resist pressure to become "America's followers," Michel told the US-based POLITICO news service on Tuesday

India, Italy for achieving balanced, fair Indo-EU free trade agreement

India and Italy have discussed progress of talks on the proposed free trade agreement between New Delhi and the European Union (EU) and hope for its early conclusion, the commerce ministry said on Thursday. In January last year, India and the EU resumed negotiations for a free trade agreement, investment protection and Geographical Indications (GI). Italy is a member of the EU. The issue came up for discussion in the meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Foreign Office Antonio Tajani here on April 12. "The ministers underlined the importance of achieving a free, balanced and fair free trade agreement and hoped that it would be concluded soon," it said. They also agreed to the convening of the next session of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) in Rome in the last week of September. Tajani suggested the formation of a Joint Working Group in the strateg

Emmanuel Macron's comments on Taiwan raise questions on EU global ties

Comments by French President Emmanuel Macron over Europe's priorities on Taiwan have raised questions over the EU's relationship with both the US and China, on the eve of his planned speech on the bloc's sovereignty in The Netherlands. Macron's remarks were published on Sunday in an interview with French newspaper Les Echos and Politico Europe. The question we need to answer, as Europeans, is the following: is it in our interest to accelerate (a crisis) on Taiwan? No," Macron was quoted as saying in the interview. "The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the US agenda and a Chinese overreaction. The comments were made on Friday, before China launched large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president's trip to the US last week. Macron spoke to reporters on his way back from a three-day state visit to China, where he spoke at length with Preside

Russian oil & Opec effect: Outcome of buying Urals oil above cap are severe

The risks to Indo-Russian oil trade escalate when Urals crude starts trading above the cap imposed by the European Union

Who will India trade with?

Regional consolidation of trade may leave India out in the cold

Finland's Nato moment

A snub for Putin, a risk for Europe

India, European Union speed up work on free trade agreement negotiations

The fifth round of negotiations will be held in New Delhi from June 19-23, 2023

EU lashes out at China for extending support to Russia in Ukraine war

The European Union's foreign policy chief on Tuesday lashed out at China for its support of Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine and called it a blatant violation of Beijing's United Nations commitments. There cannot be siding with the aggressor, Josep Borrell said. There is a clear expectation from a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council to stand up in defence of international rules-based order and China as a moral duty to contribute to a fair peace. Standing alongside visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Borrell was forceful in his condemnation of a nation that has increasingly moved from being a partner to being a rival on the global stage. The comments come just ahead of a visit of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen together with French President Emmanuel Macron to China, where both will press the point that EU-China relations will pivot on Beijing's friendship with Russia. Macron and von der Leyen are set to warn China against sending weapons to Russ

EU's population projected to drop by 6% by 2100, shows Eurostat data

The European Union's population will decrease by 6 per cent between 1 January 2022 and 1 January 2100, equivalent to 27.3 million fewer people, according to the latest population projections

India, Denmark exchange views on G20 presidency, India-EU FTA, Ukraine

India, Denmark exchanged views on multilateral, regional issues including India's G20 presidency, India-EU Free Trade Agreement, Ukraine, Indo-Pacific, co-operation at the UN, and climate change

As Finland plans to join Nato, a look at how countries join the alliance

Nato's membership has increased from 12 to 30 countries through eight rounds of enlargement. The Republic of North Macedonia became the latest country to join Nato on March 27, 2020

Ukraine seeks to join EU within year after start of membership talks

Ukraine is performing the tasks put forward by the EU for the membership "much faster than anyone expected", the minister stressed

India falls 6 spots to rank 144 in Passport Index 2023: All you must know

The sharp fall in India's ranking has been attributed to the change in European Union's policy

EU mulls banning new gas, diesel cars by 2035 despite divisions

European Union (EU) energy ministers have approved a ban on the production and sale of new cars using traditional fossil fuel engines by 2035

European Union takes key step toward ending era of combustion-engine cars

The last-minute deal is a concession to high-end sports car brands like Germany's Porsche, but is expected to have little effect on the plans of most major manufacturers.

European Union leaders grapple with banking crisis as economy weakens

European Union leaders gathered Friday to gauge the risk of a banking crisis developing from recent global financial turbulence and hitting the economy even harder than the energy crunch tied to Russia's war in Ukraine. The deliberations by EU government heads in Brussels follow US regulators shutting down two US banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, and a Swiss-orchestrated takeover of troubled lender Credit Suisse by rival UBS. The emergency actions on both sides of the Atlantic revived memories of the 2008 global financial meltdown and the ensuing EU sovereign debt crisis, which almost broke apart the euro currency now shared by 20 European countries. For the moment, we see no reason to be worried, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told reporters on his way to the EU meeting. But we monitor it really closely, almost on a daily basis, because no one knows what can happen. The European economy has been slowing rapidly since Russia invaded Ukraine 13 months ago to the day, .

EU to propose clampdown on firms using fake 'green' claims on products

The European Union is set to propose on Wednesday new requirements on companies seeking to promote goods sold in Europe with labels like "natural", "climate neutral" or having "recycled content"

European Commission proposes rules to protect consumers from greenwashing

The European Union's executive arm proposed rules on Wednesday to protect consumers from businesses selling goods labelled as green which actually aren't. The European Commission said greenwashing was a notable problem, with 53 per cent of green claims on products or services making vague, misleading or unfounded information. About 230 sustainability labels are in use across the 27-nation EU, with vastly different levels of transparency, according to the commission. With its green claims directive, the commission wants to set common criteria that would bring more clarity. The European Parliament and EU member countries need to approve the initiative for it to take effect. Under the proposal, companies that claim the packaging for their products is made of 30 per cent recycled plastic would have to prove it with scientific evidence. EU countries would be in charge of setting up verification processes overseen by independent bodies. Businesses based outside the EU making environmen

EU condemns gender-based discrimination by Taliban in Afghanistan

Where activities cannot be continued in line with the EU's principled approach, the EU support to those activities will be reconsidered, the statement said