The “mother of all contracts” is waiting for signature. The EU and India will create a market for 2 billion people

A preliminary agreement on a trade agreement is to be reached at the EU-India summit on Tuesday in Delhi. It will open the market of one of the most populous countries in the world, including: for European cars. The summit will also include a partnership in the field of security and defense.

In Delhi, the European Union will be represented by: President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Antonio Costa, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas and Commissioner for Trade Marosz Shefczovicz. India will be represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The EU-India agreement, or the “mother of all agreements”

As von der Leyen announced, the trade agreement, which will be initially concluded after 20 years of negotiations, may be called the “mother of all agreements”. It is intended to create one of the largest trading areas in the world, with a population of approximately two billion people.

India is to open its market to industrial goods from the EU by reducing high customs duties, currently considered prohibitive by EU producers. To sell a car with a combustion engine, a European manufacturer currently has to pay a customs duty of 110 percent, which makes cars from the EU unattractive on that market.

Farmers will not protest this time. The sector has been disabled

However, unlike the trade agreement with Mercosur concluded on January 17, the agricultural sector is to be excluded from the agreement with India.

– First of all, I would like to draw attention to the fact that agricultural issues are practically completely excluded, so there is absolutely no reason to worry like in the case of Mercosur – said the deputy head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ignacy Niemczycki, on Monday in Brussels. According to him, the agreement will, in turn, open opportunities for the industry.

The deputy minister added that Poland has benefited from all the agreements concluded so far and all calculations show that the same will happen in the case of India.

More cautious was the Minister of Agriculture, Stefan Krajewski, who also told journalists in Brussels that the agreement with India certainly did not affect agriculture to the same extent as the agreement with Mercosur, but emphasized that he was waiting for its final shape.

Will Indians eat Polish apples?

Krajewski admitted that the agricultural sector “is practically excluded” from the agreement with India.

– On the other hand, we are constantly looking for sales markets for our apples and our alcoholic products, which are very popular around the world – he noted.

The signature is not the end, but only the beginning of the journey

A preliminary political agreement does not yet mean a contract has been concluded. It will start the approval process. In the case of the agreement with the Mercosur bloc of South American countries, it took the EU over a year – the negotiations were completed in December 2024, and the agreement was formally concluded on January 17 this year.

Possible liberalization of agricultural trade raises concerns in India, where – despite a drastic decline in the share of agriculture in GDP – it is still a key branch of the economy. It is estimated that about half of India's over 1.3 billion people earn their living from agriculture.

Agreement – a signal to the world and the USA?

The conclusion of the negotiations is intended to send a signal that the European Union, unlike the United States, is ready to deepen cooperation with trading partners around the world. Von der Leyen said last week that in the face of US President Donald Trump's customs threats, there is a growing belief among member states that the Community should increase not only its independence in the area of ​​security, but also invest in the diversification of economic partners. In the opinion of the President of the European Commission, trade agreements are the key to the latter.

In the background of trade… also security

A partnership in the field of security and defense will also be concluded at the summit in Delhi on Tuesday, which Kallas confirmed on social media. – This will bring concrete results in areas such as maritime security, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism – she wrote. The partnership is intended to deepen EU cooperation with India in the defense industry.

Differences in approach to Russia will remain a difficulty in cooperation with India. Delhi has long-standing and deep relations with Moscow, and economic cooperation covers strategic sectors such as security and energy. After Russia started the war in Ukraine in 2022, India increased its imports of Russian hydrocarbons and did not give up on them even after the United States increased tariffs to 50%. in August 2025

From Brussels Magdalena Cedro (PAP)

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