India-EU FTA to remove trade barriers in new geo-political world: UIA's Carlo Mastellone
The bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union will enhance market access and remove trade barriers for both the nations in the new geo-political world
- NEW DELHI — The bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the
European Union will enhance market access and remove trade barriers for both
the nations in the new geo-political world, Carlo Mastellone, UIA President,
Studio Legale Mastellone in Florence, Italy, said on Saturday.
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- Speaking at a seminar in the national capital, Mastellone
said there is a very large domestic market in India and the time is now ripe to
change the approach from multilateralism to bilateralism.
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- “From the perspective of the European Union, which is
where I come from, we are looking at one of the bilateral free trade agreements
(FTAs). From the European point of view, that will be accomplished in this new
geopolitical and geographical situation,” Mastellone told the gathering.
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- In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to expedite the
conclusion of the India-EU FTA by the end of the year and hold further focused
discussions on the defence industry and policy to explore opportunities from
new initiatives and programmes.
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- The leaders committed to task their respective
negotiating teams to pursue negotiations for a balanced, ambitious, and
mutually beneficial FTA with the aim of concluding them within the course of
the year. Officials were asked to work as trusted partners to enhance market
access and remove trade barriers.
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- The two leaders welcomed the progress made by the second
ministerial meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) that
took place during the visit in fostering deeper collaboration and strategic
coordination at the intersection of trade, trusted technology, and green
transition.
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- At the seminar, Mastellone also stated that the mission
of the UIA is building bridges and networking between lawyers from different
systems and cultures “for the benefits of lawyers globally”.
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- “The opportunity is to stand up together for the rule of
law, for human rights and for the protection of lawyers who are under threat of
being persecuted by governments or other authorities,” he said, adding that we
also need to stand up for the independence of the legal profession, something
that “India is absolutely quite clear about” while facing the “challenge of
fulfilling a responsible role towards world peace”.
