Vice-President Barrot meets India's Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr. Patel to strengthen cooperation in civil aviation.
Date: Brussels, 22nd October 2007

As a follow-up to the successful first EU-India Aviation Summit held in New Delhi in November 2006, Mr. Praful Patel, Minister for Civil Aviation of India is visiting several European institutions on 22-23 October 2007. The visit is being hosted by Mr. Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for transport. The two sides expressed their shared aspirations driven by their respective policies of promoting safe, open and sustainable aviation relations for the benefit of industry and consumers.

Messrs. Patel and Barrot welcomed the very positive new impetus in EU-India aviation cooperation following the adoption in September 2005 of the overall EU-India "Joint Action Plan" in which civil aviation plays a key enabling role. However, both sides expressed a strong wish for taking EU-India cooperation in civil aviation to a new level by broadening and intensifying cooperation in a wide range of areas.

Progress towards the finalisation of a Horizontal Agreement as well as an agreement on future technical cooperation was welcomed by Vice President Barrot. The Horizontal Agreement will restore legal certainty to the 24 bilateral air services agreements that India has with individual EU Member States thereby creating a sound legal basis for further developing EU-India air transport connections.
A key objective of future technical assistance will be to strengthen the institutional capacity of the civil aviation regulatory authorities of India and to help ensure a safe and secure aviation environment through policy support, pilot projects and targeted training.

Source: EUROPA NEWS

First EU-India Macroeconomic Dialogue Organised in New Delhi
Date: New Delhi, 12 July 2007

The 1st EU-India Macroeconomic Dialogue took place in New Delhi on 12 July 2007. The Indian side, which included officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India, was led by the Finance Secretary, Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao. Director General for Economic and Financial Affairs, at the European Commission, Brussels, Mr. Klaus Regling led the EU side. The European Central Bank (ECB) was represented by ECB Board Member, Mr. Bini-Smaghi.

The dialogue took place in a cordial atmosphere and allowed a fruitful and useful exchange of views on the economic outlook for India and the EU, by reviewing fiscal, monetary and exchange rate developments in the two areas, and discussing structural policies that can raise the growth potential of the respective economies. From the Indian side, the government indicated that the priority going forward is to accelerate growth while making it inclusive, with the primary goal of the outcomes reaching the poor effectively. The two sides also discussed global imbalances and other international economic issues, regional economic integration in Europe and Asia, and financial market-related issues. An in-depth discussion took place on the challenges the two economies are facing, some of which are common (e.g., how to raise productivity growth, how to take advantage of good times, like the current ones, to promote reform and fiscal consolidation). The EU side welcomed India in ASEM. Secretary Subbarao and DG Regling stressed that they both were looking forward to a successful meeting of ASEM Finance Ministers next year in Korea. Both sides recognized that this first meeting of the EU-India macroeconomic dialogue was very productive. It helped enhance mutual understanding and proved to be a useful platform for dialogue and cooperation on macroeconomic issues.

Source: Delegation of the European Commission to India Nepal and Bhutan

EU Agriculture Commissioner brings 'Tasty Europe' to India

• Commissioner Fischer Boel leads a week long 28 member delegation visit to India
• EU and India to explore trade and investment opportunities in the Agri Food sector

The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms. Mariann Fischer Boel, today commenced her weeklong visit to India. Commissioner Boel is accompanied by a 28-member high-level delegation of top executives representing food and drink companies from across the European Union under the "Tasty Europe" banner. The main objective of the visit is to spearhead a promotional effort to increase business opportunities in the agri food sector between EU and India.

During the visit the Commissioner Boel and the "Tasty Europe" delegation will meet and interact with members of the Indian business community both in New Delhi and Mumbai. The International food fair, 'AHAAR' would be co-inaugurated by Commissioner Boel and EU would also have a strong participation at the fair with a large EU booth. Cooking demonstrations highlighting the use of European products in Indian cuisine and workshops would be part of the specific promotional activities.

The Commissioner is also scheduled to meet the Minister of Commerce Kamal Nath, Minister of Food Processing Subodh Kant Sahay, Minister of Agriculture, Consumer Affairs & Food Distribution Mr. Sharad Pawar and Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Commenting on the occasion, Ms. Mariann Fischer Boel said, "The visit to India represents a great opportunity to strengthen EU-India links and to foster business opportunities on both sides. The EU is India's biggest trading partner with bilateral trade worth almost Euro 40 billion in 2005 and there is no doubt that there is still further potential - including in the agri-food sector. The presence of such a high calibre delegation from Europe offers India many possible investment opportunities in the agri-food sector."

The delegation visit comes at a crucial time for the Doha Round of World Trade talks, which resumed in January following their suspension in July 2006. The EU has made a far-reaching offer to reduce trade-distorting domestic farm subsidies by 70 percent, to phase out export subsidies by 2013 and to cut import tariffs by an average of 39 percent. The EU has backed calls by countries including India for protection for a number of 'Special Products'.

Apart from the political meetings, Commissioner will also host a number of events including networking meetings between the business communities of the EU and India; seminars on doing business in India for the EU representatives; visits to local markets and food facilities; presentation of European food and drink; a speech at Mumbai University.

Accompanying Business delegation:

The business delegation comprises of 28 European companies from the sectors of dairy, fruits and vegetables, meat, mixed, wines and spirits, and processed products. Between them, they represent 15 countries out of the total 27 EU Member States. The companies are listed below according to the business sectors:

Dairy (4): Arla Foods (Denmark), Danone and Lactalis (Both France), Valio (Finland)

Fruits and Vegetables (8): Agrana Fruit, Bonduelle, (Both France), AMC, Grupo SOS (Both Spain), Conserve Italia Sca (Italy), Delcof (Greece), Sovena (Portugal), Total Produce (Ireland)

Meat (5): Danish Crown (Denmark), VanDrie Group (Netherlands), Inalca (Italy), Kipco-Damaco (Belgium), PKM Duda SA (Poland)
Mixed (1): Maspex Wadowice Group (Poland)

Processed Products (3): Grandi Molini Italiani (Italy), Kerry Group (Ireland), Lantmannen Mills A/S (Denmark)

Source : Delegation of the European Commission to India Nepal and Bhutan

European Science and Research Commissioner, Janez Potočnik, will make his first official visit to India on 7-9 February, with events in Delhi and Ahmedabad. While there, he will co-chair the first ever meeting of EU and India science ministers and participate in the EU-India Science Icons meeting, with the President of India, plus 500 Indian science students. Commissioner Potočnik will also inaugurate a workshop on climate change research, and visit India's premier fusion energy research facility.

"India and the EU have much to learn from each other in the field of science" said Commissioner Potocnik before his departure. "We have both recognised that our people, and their knowledge, are our best resource. We are working together in major projects such as the GEANT network, Galileo satellite system and ITER fusion energy project. I hope that my visit, and especially the EU-India Ministerial Meeting, will give added impetus to an already flourishing relationship".

The EU-India summit in October 2006 highlighted the importance of research in the EU-India relationship. Between 2002 and 2006 more than 75 projects were funded that involved Indian researchers. Significant new opportunities are opening up with the advent of the Seventh Framework Programme, which has a structure that is more open to international partnerships than its predecessors.

The EU-India Ministerial Conference on Science on 7 February will be chaired by Kapil Sibal, the Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, for the Indian side, and Annette Schavan, German Federal Minister of Science, and Commissioner Potočnik for the EU side. It will be attended by ministers or high-level representatives from the 27 EU Member States, many of whom have recently signed bilateral science and technology agreements with India. The objective of the conference is to identify ways to strengthen the scope and quality of scientific co-operation with India, within the context of the continued development of a European Research Area.

On 8 February, the Commissioner will participate in the EU-India Science Icons event, where leading figures from science and research in Europe and India will have a chance to interact with Indian science students. The event, under the aegis of the Indian President DR APJ Abdul Kalam, is based on similar gatherings that take place in Europe, which are important in generating interest in and enthusiasm for science as a career choice. The same day Commissioner Potočnik will also open the EU-India Strategic Workshop on Climate Change Research needs, bringing together 50 leading climate change experts from Europe and India to discuss this area of extreme importance to both partners. The workshop will identify common research priorities and look at how the Indian and European science funding systems could work together to stimulate joint research.


The final leg of the visit will take place at the Institute of Plasma Research in Ahmedabad, which is co-ordinating India's input to the ITER fusion energy project.

For information on the ITER fusion energy project: www.iter.org 

At the occasion of a successful joint EU-India Aviation Summit held in New Delhi, Vice-President Jacques Barrot and India's Minister for Civil Aviation Mr. Praful Patel signed a "Joint Declaration" on 22 November 2006 that will lay the foundation for closer cooperation between the EU and India in a range of areas of civil aviation. "Given the strong growth and infrastructure challenges facing India's aviation sector, I am extremely pleased with the prospects of enhancing cooperation in civil aviation with India. The scope for cooperation is huge and will benefit both India and EU industry", said Vice-President Jacques Barrot in New Delhi.

India is one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets and is of increasing strategic importance to the EU and its industry.
In his opening speech at the joint EU-India Aviation Summit, Vice-President Barrot described the common challenges faced by India and the EU in aviation and invited India to face these in partnership through closer cooperation with the EU.

In 2004, India and the EU upgraded their already strong overall relationship into a strategic partnership. This strategic partnership is underpinned by an agreed Joint Action Plan in which civil aviation plays a key enabling role.

Since the adoption of the Joint Action Plan in September 2005, co-operation in the area of civil aviation has been given new impetus. On this basis Vice-President Barrot and Minister Patel agreed in Delhi on two important concrete steps forward in enhancing EU-India aviation relations in the future.

As a first significant step, the two sides agreed to restore legal certainty to all the bilateral air services agreements between India and EU Member States. Therefore, it was agreed that a “horizontal agreement” will be finalised as a matter of priority. To that effect, the parties will meet in early 2007. The aim of the "horizontal agreement" will be to amend certain provisions in the bilateral agreements thereby bringing these into conformity with Community law thus restoring legal certainty to these agreements and the operators flying under them.

Secondly, building on the very successful results achieved under the 1999-2006 “EU-India Civil Aviation Co-operation Project”, Messrs. Barrot and Patel agreed to prepare a Joint Action Plan that will set out the key priorities for strengthening future technical and technological co-operation. This Joint Action Plan, which will also be finalised as a matter of priority, and a new technical co-operation programme that will start in 2007 will be important instruments in taking forward the wide range of areas of mutual interest of industry, regulators and the wider public of both sides, as identified during the aviation summit.

The Joint Action Plan will identify the main priority areas for future technical cooperation which will cover aviation safety (including strengthening the cooperation with the European Air Safety Agency (EASA)), security, airport infrastructure, air traffic management, environmental policy, economic regulation, training and industrial co-operation.
At the EU-India Aviation Summit, Vice-President Barrot also invited India to become associated in major EU technological programmes such as GALILEO, the satellite navigation programme, and SESAR, the air traffic management project.

The EU-India Aviation Summit was highly successful in bringing together more than 300 leading representatives of the Indian and the European Union aviation sectors representing public authorities, airlines, airports, aerospace industries and service providers. The summit provided a very effective platform for identifying priority areas and ways forward in closer EU-India aviation co-operation for the future.

More than 500 Indian students and scholars from all over India have secured admission to a large number of European universities spread all over the 27 EU Member States thanks to the “Erasmus Mundus” (EM) scholarship funded by the European Union, and are leaving or have already left India to join their respective Masters level courses in the academic session 2007 – 08.

The European Commission allocated a sum of € 33 million in 2005 for the “India Window” within the Erasmus Mundus programme. For the academic year of 2005/2006, 133 scholarships for Indian students under the India Window were approved. In 2006 – 07 this number rose to 288 and in 2007 – 08 to 403. In addition to this, 81 Indian students and 27 scholars received scholarships under the general EM programme in 2007 -08.

On 23rd May 2007 the official decisions were taken regarding the award of scholarships to students and scholars in the framework of Action 2 of the Erasmus Mundus programme for Masters Courses starting in the academic year 2007-2008, including the “Regional Windows”. A total number of 1,825 students and 273 scholars from all over the world were selected by the 80 Erasmus Mundus consortia offering an Erasmus Mundus Masters Course. The students' figures include 440 students selected under the Asia Window, 126 students selected under the ACP Window and 63 students selected under the Western Balkans Window.

All selected students have been awarded a scholarship of 21,000 € per academic year (the maximum scholarship for 2 years is 42,000 €), for attending one of the 80 Masters Courses selected under Action 1 of the programme. Students can study in any of the countries in which the universities belonging to an Erasmus Mundus consortium are located. All students who have been awarded a scholarship are automatically and free of charge covered by an insurance scheme against risks related to health, accidents, death, permanent invalidity and civil responsibility. Cover takes effect two months prior to the start of the “Erasmus Mundus” Masters Course in which the student is enrolled and is valid until three months after the end of the course.

The India Window was operational for applications between 2005 and 2007 and has granted student scholarships to more than 900 Indian graduates.