New Delhi During his visit to India, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his intention to intervene in the sluggish free trade talks between the EU and India. “I will personally make sure that this matter doesn’t last as long as it has taken up to now,” said the SPD politician on Saturday at a joint press appearance with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. “I want the agreement to be reached and that the matter doesn’t just drag on for years,” Scholz added after the end of the encounter with Modi.
Negotiations between the EU and Asia’s third largest economy are considered to be extremely difficult and had failed once before: both sides broke off talks in 2013 after six years of negotiations had failed to make any progress. A new attempt started last year. In July, both sides announced the goal of reaching an agreement by the end of 2023.
But once again the negotiators from India and the EU Commission seem to be making slower progress than planned. In Berlin government circles there is talk of “difficult negotiations”.
The performances are still a whole track apart, it said. Especially when it comes to sustainability provisions in the trade agreement, the Indians are very cautious. A degree this year is therefore becoming increasingly unrealistic. An agreement by the summer of 2024 is now considered very ambitious by some negotiators.
According to Scholz, the responsibility for the difficulties lies not only with India, but also with the EU Commission. This is responsible for the talks for the EU. “The problems are on all sides,” he said. “It’s not a good impression that we’re making.” He had made it clear “that we’re going to be in direct contact with the Commission.”
India is an indispensable economic partner
Scholz is also signaling the importance that the German government now attaches to India. The emerging country with a population of 1.4 billion is considered an indispensable economic partner in Berlin in order to reduce the previous dependencies on China.
In India, he is concerned with deepening economic cooperation, said Scholz. 1800 German companies are already present in the country and have created tens of thousands of jobs. “These investments are to be expanded and the number of employees massively increased,” emphasized Scholz. He also spoke out in favor of recruiting IT specialists from India to Germany.
Scholz will be accompanied in India by a high-ranking business delegation, including Siemens boss Roland Busch, SAP CEO Christian Klein and Thyssenkrupp boss Martina Merz.
>>Read here: Where Germany is really dependent on imports from China
According to media reports, ThyssenKrupp is currently trying to win a multi-billion dollar armaments deal in India, involving the purchase of six submarines worth 4.9 billion euros. Scholz is said to have campaigned for the German group. Concrete projects had been discussed, Scholz said when asked about the submarine deal. “I have the impression that the quality of German technology is held in high esteem,” he added.
India recently negotiated the submarine deal with Russia, among others. The government in Moscow has been India’s most important armaments supplier since Soviet times.
India’s dependence on Russian arms is considered one of the main reasons why the Modi government is insisting on its strategic partnership with Russia despite the Ukraine war. At the United Nations General Assembly on the anniversary of the start of the war, India abstained from voting on a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops.
Scholz avoids criticism of Modi
During his quarter-hour press appearance at Modi’s side, Scholz avoided criticism of the host’s behavior. He emphasized that the “terrible war of aggression” must not lead to price increases and food shortages in poorer countries – and was thus entirely in line with Modi’s line, which focuses primarily on the consequences of the war for the Global South.
“The war in Ukraine has had a particularly negative impact on developing countries,” Modi said. India is ready to work on a solution. Scholz referred to the “responsible role” that India is taking on with this year’s G20 presidency at a difficult time.
During his speech, the chancellor avoided criticism of the host’s behavior.
(Photo: dpa)
After the appointments in Delhi, Scholz will travel to the southern Indian economic metropolis of Bangalore on Sunday. For the chancellor, the visit to the country is the second trip to India as an official: in 2012 he was in the country in his capacity as mayor of Hamburg. “A lot has changed, India has experienced a great upswing,” said Scholz.
Once again he doesn’t want to let another decade go by before he comes back to India: The next chancellor’s trip to the emerging country is already planned for September – for the G20 summit.
And India is likely to remain on the political agenda in Berlin next year as well: the next Asia-Pacific conference of German business is to take place in India in 2024, as Scholz announced – a date to which the German government traditionally sends high-ranking representatives.
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