Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

EU-India Joint Action Plan: Implementation Report

1. The Sixth EU-India Summit, held in New Delhi on 7 September 2005, endorsed a comprehensive Joint Action Plan setting out a road map for the EU-India Strategic Partnership. It was agreed that a report on progress in implementation of the Joint Action Plan would be presented before each annual Summit.

2. Looking at each of the successive sections of the Joint Action Plan, both sides are pleased to report the following achievements:Strengthening dialogue and consultation mechanisms.

3. Since the sixth EU-India Summit, the two sides have taken significant strides forward in strengthening their dialogue, including through setting up a number of new consultation mechanisms.

4. The new EU-India consultation mechanisms that have been put into place include,among others, a Security Dialogue, a Dialogue on Migration issues and Visa Policy, sectoral Working Groups on Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, Agriculture and Marine Products, Food Processing, Technical Barriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Issues, and an informal Joint Action Plan Implementation Steering Committee. A High Level Trade Group was also constituted to study and explore ways and means to deepen and widen the bilateral trade and investment relationship.

Political dialogue and cooperation

5. The EU and India have developed institutional mechanisms to exchange ideas on regional issues. Building on this, the EU presented an application for observer status in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), with a view to developing even closer contacts with this body. With India's support, the EU's application for Observer status in SAARC was considered and approved by the 27th SAARC Council of Ministers Meeting in Dhaka on 1-2 August 2006. The EU was invited to attend, as an observer, the 14th SAARC Summit, which will be held in New Delhi on 1-4 April 2007.

6. In the field of effective multilateralism, the EU and India cooperated closely in the past year on UN reform, including by encouraging the establishment of the United Nations Human Rights Council, of which India and seven EU Member States are currently members, and of the United Nations Peace-Building Commission, which has India and eight EU Member States among the members of its organisational committee. Both sides have held various consultations in New York and Geneva to discuss topics of common interest. The EU and India will continue working together in multilateral fora to further common interests.

7. As agreed under the Joint Action Plan, human rights consultations were held on 1 December 2005 in New Delhi. An EU-India conference on "Global Agendas: Peacemaking in the 21st Century" was held in Delhi in February 2006. It is expected that the UN Peace- Building Commission may offer new avenues to cooperate in the field of peace-building.

8. The first meeting of the EU-India Senior Officials Security Dialogue, held in New Delhi on 22 May 2006, saw a useful exchange of views on global and regional security issues, disarmament and non-proliferation.

9. Contacts have been established between Indian officials and the Personal Representative of Mr Solana for non-proliferation. The two sides are considering possibilities for exchanging views on respective export control systems.

10. The sixth EU-India consultations on terrorism took place in Brussels in December 2005. It was useful in taking forward cooperation between the EU and India in the fight against terrorism and organised crime. The EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator visited New Delhi in October 2006 to establish contact with his Indian counterpart. Their talks were the occasion to explore how to take forward EU-India counter-terrorism cooperation.

Bringing together people and cultures

11. The EU-India Civil Society Round Table has been a useful forum for involving civil society stakeholders in the Strategic Partnership. Its ninth meeting, in September 2005 in Hyderabad, addressed Pluralism and Diversity. The tenth meeting, in June 2006 in Vienna, focused on Energy, Social Development and Minorities. Enhanced civil society exchanges are also being developed in other areas.

12. The first round of a new Dialogue on Migration Issues and Visa Policy took place on 27 June 2006 in Brussels. The EU-India Joint Working Group on Consular Affairs held its 10th meeting in New Delhi on 14 June 2006.

13. Both sides welcome the intensification of EU-India parliamentary exchanges, as illustrated by the visit to India, in November 2005 and in April 2006, by members of the European Parliament delegation for relations with South Asia and their interactions with the Indian Members of Parliament. The President of the European Parliament, Mr Josep Borrell, also visited India from 30 September to 6 October 2006.

14. The number of scholarships awarded under the Erasmus Mundus India Window has more than doubled between the academic year 2005-2006 and the year 2006-2007. Both sides are undertaking promotional actions, to raise further awareness about this programme. Both sides have agreed to explore the modalities for the establishment of a network of 'EU Studies Centres' in a number of Indian universities. Several Chairs for Indian contemporary study centres are being established in European universities by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. In order to further stimulate research on contemporary Indian issues in the EU, the European Commission has supported the establishment of an Academic Network of European Research related to India (ANERI).

15. Cultural initiatives have been organised, such as the EU Cultural Weeks in India (in September 2005), the 11th European Film Festival in India (in March-April 2006), as well as the India Festival in Brussels (from October 2006 to January 2007), organised by 'Bozar' in association with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Economic policy dialogue and cooperation

16. The European Commission is currently drafting a Country Strategy Paper 2007-2013 for India, which outlines the priorities and provides the financial framework for the funding of cooperation activities in India. In this context, an Action Plan Support Facility is being established to kick-start activities in selected areas of priority.

17. Indian Finance Minister Chidambaram met with Commissioner Almunia in Brussels on 12 June 2006. At this meeting, it was agreed that the Indian authorities and the European Commission would actively explore the modalities for the launch of a Macroeconomic Dialogue.

18. EU and Indian experts exchanged information on company law and accounting standards, financial services policies and the supervision of financial institutions in the a first high level meeting of the "EU-India Dialogue on Financial Services Regulation" which took place on 9 June 2006 in Brussels.

19. The first meeting of the Working Group on Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology took place on 18 July 2006. It made a special reference to Ayurveda (Indian traditional system of medicine). Under this framework, an expert meeting on Ayurveda was held on 15 May 2006 in London, together with the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA). The Government of India hosted in April 2006 in New Delhi an "Asia Stakeholder Consultation on the EU's Policy to Confront HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis" funded by the European Commission, which brought together officials, experts and civil society representatives from 16 Asian countries. Both sides exchanged experience, both at technical level and within the EU-India Security Dialogue, on tackling avian flu.

20. The fourth meeting of the EU-India Working Group on Information and Communication Technologies was held in Brussels in October 2005. European

Commissioner for Information Society and the Media, Viviane Reding, visited India in November 2005 and proposed steps to further promote bilateral cooperation in Information and Communication Technology. Connectivity between the European (GEANT2) and Indian (ERNET) high speed research networks has been operational since August 2006 and will last for one year.

21. A visit to India of the European Commission Director General for Research and Development was followed by the establishment of a Science and Technology section in the European Commission Delegation in New Delhi. Within the framework of the EU-India Scientific and Cooperation Agreement, EU-India workshops have been held on Computational Materials Science, on Infectious Diseases as well as on cooperation in e- Safety. Since September 2005, Indian participation in the sixth EU Framework Programme for Research has more than doubled to over 50 projects. Efforts have been devoted to raising awareness on opportunities available for Indian participation in the seventh Framework Programme.

22. On 6 December 2005, India formally became a participant in the ITER project on fusion energy with the full backing of the EU. An EU-India Energy Business Conference was held on 6 April 2006 in New Delhi with the participation of senior-level officials and industry representatives. The second meeting of the EU-India Energy Panel took place on 7 April 2006. The Energy Panel meeting was preceded by the first meetings, between January and March, of the three Working Groups on Fusion/ITER; Coal and Clean Coal Technologies and Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency. Both sides agreed to establish a fourth Working Group on Petroleum and Natural Gas, as well as where appropriate also include key stakeholders from industry in the Working Group discussions. The Energy Panel also agreed to launch a set of studies in the energy domain.

23. An EU-India Workshop on the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was held in November 2005 in New Delhi, which coincided with the first EU-India Environmental Forum, which focused on Waste Management. In February 2006 the EC-India Joint Working Group on Environment met in New Delhi.

24. Three rounds of discussions have been held during 2006 on Civil Aviation Cooperation including consultations on a Horizontal Civil Aviation Agreement. Both parties have agreed that, once formalised, a Horizontal Agreement will represent an important step forward in the development of the aviation relationship between the EU and India. Both sides also stressed the importance of agreeing on the priorities for a new technical cooperation programme in the Civil Aviation sector.

25. The first round of negotiations on a maritime transport agreement took place on 5-7 July 2006, in a constructive atmosphere, to discuss key issues related to a future EU-India agreement. The delegations agreed to hold a second meeting as soon as possible after the Summit in Helsinki and before the end of 2006.

26. The formal signing of the cooperation agreement on GNSS (Civil Global Navigation Satellite System) between the European Community and its Member States and the Republic of India should take place towards the end of 2006. Informal contacts on space policy have been made between respective authorities.

27. The European Commission and Indian Ministry of Labour and Employment agreed in February 2006 on a draft Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Employment and Social Affairs.

28. A draft Work Programme for EU-India Customs Cooperation has been prepared.

Developing trade and investment

29. The High Level Trade Group was established at the sixth EU-India Summit. It has achieved significant progress in its work. The Group will present its report, including recommendations on how to take forward EU-India relations in the areas of trade and investment, to the seventh EU-India Summit.

30. Dialogue on WTO/DDA between EU and India has been particularly close and frequent at both technical and political levels during the negotiations.

31. An EU-India seminar on Geographical Indications was held on 23-24 November 2005 in New Delhi.

32. A seminar on Public Procurement was held in New Delhi on 12 May 2006 where both sides exchanged information on their respective legislation and practices.

33. The working group on Technical Barriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Issues has been set up and has held its first meeting, on 10-11 July 2006 in New Delhi.

34. An EU-India CEO Round Table has been established under the lead of the business confederations on both sides - the Confederation of European Business (CEB/UNICE) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) / Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).