NEW DELHI, Jan 20: The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday signalled that negotiations between India and the European Union were approaching a significant phase, telling global leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos that the two sides were “on the cusp of a historic trade agreement” that could reshape global commerce and supply chains.
During her address, Ursula von der Leyen framed the prospective India-EU free trade agreement as part of Europe’s broader strategy to champion what she described as “fair trade over tariffs, partnership over isolation, sustainability over exploitation.” She said the European Union was committed to de-risking its economy and diversifying supply chains by deepening ties with the world’s major growth centres.
“And right after Davos, the next weekend, I will travel to India. There is still work to do, but we are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement,” von der Leyen said, adding that “some call it the mother of all deals.” According to her, the agreement would create a combined market of around two billion people and account for nearly a quarter of global GDP, giving European companies a crucial first-mover advantage in one of the world’s fastest-growing regions.
The strong statement from Davos is the clearest public signal yet that both sides are pushing to conclude the long-pending negotiations, which have seen multiple rounds of talks over the years but gained fresh momentum amid shifting geopolitical and economic realities. The EU, like several major economies, has been seeking to reduce excessive dependence on a narrow set of suppliers and to build resilient, diversified supply chains, particularly in strategic sectors such as clean technologies, digital infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and critical raw materials.
Ms Von der Leyen placed India at the heart of this strategy, describing the Indo-Pacific as one of the “economic powerhouses of this century.” “Europe wants to do business with the growth centres of today and the economic powerhouses of this century, from Latin America to the Indo-Pacific and far beyond,” she said, underlining that Europe “will always choose the world, and the world is ready to choose Europe.”
Her comments come just days before her scheduled visit to New Delhi later this month, a trip that is expected to give a significant political push to the trade talks. The visit also coincides with a major diplomatic moment in India-EU relations.
According to a statement issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) earlier this month, the President of the European Council, Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, and President von der Leyen will be on a State Visit to India from January 25 to 27, 2026, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders will be the Chief Guests at India’s 77th Republic Day celebrations, underscoring the growing strategic weight both sides attach to the partnership.
During the visit, the European leaders will also co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit with Prime Minister Modi on January 27. They are scheduled to meet the President of India and hold both restricted and delegation-level talks with the Prime Minister. An India-EU Business Forum is also expected to be organised on the sidelines of the summit, providing a platform for industry leaders to explore new investment and trade opportunities.
India and the European Union have been strategic partners since 2004, but ties have taken on a new urgency and depth in recent years, particularly following the visit of the EU College of Commissioners to India in February 2025, which was described by both sides as historic. The MEA noted that bilateral ties have expanded across a wide range of areas, from trade and technology to climate action, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges.
If concluded, the India-EU trade agreement would be among the largest and most ambitious trade deals in the world, covering not just tariffs but also services, investment, digital trade, sustainability standards and regulatory cooperation. For India, it would offer deeper access to one of its largest trading partners and a major source of technology and investment. For Europe, it would secure a stronger foothold in a vast and rapidly growing market at a time when global trade patterns are being reshaped by geopolitical tensions and economic fragmentation.
(Manas Dasgupta)
