India-EU Partnership During India’s G20 Presidency
By Eshita Nayyar
Abstract
Group of Twenty (G20) is a high-level international platform for the discussion of pertinent economic and financial issues of global relevance. The G20 Presidency 2023 held in India is responsible for bringing together the G20 agenda in consultation with other members and responding to global economic developments. The primary issues tackled are climate resilience, energy transition, sustainable economic growth, women’s empowerment, and global health access. This ‘green summit’ is also seeking to make further strides in digital welfare in the country and a better representation of India at the UN Security Council.
The EU and India have had differing positions on many policy issues, including the Russian-Ukrainian war. The G20 presidency provided a platform to discuss potential reform measures. The two countries agreed to work together towards a more sustainable future. Focused on the green transition, the G20 presidency sought to strengthen bilateral relations. As EU High Representative Joseph Borrell emphasized, “In a world of disorder, Europe needs partners.”
Multilateralism
G20’s main objective was to reform multilateralism, which is also a mutual interest between India and Europe despite different approaches on certain topics. The EU prefers a legally binding contract for multilateral cooperation, but India prefers voluntary commitments and without treaty obligations.
UN Security Council
In 2022, India pointed out the Council’s lack of representation to reflect the economic realities of the 21st century, as reported by the India Times. India seeks a readjustment of power through its inclusion in existing multilateral frameworks, thereby seeking much-needed leverage to expand its global geo-political and geo-economic clout. “Europe, while it enjoys a privileged position in multilateral structures, is aware of the impact of its outsized presence on questions of legitimacy and representation in global institutions” (ISSUE NO. 643 JUNE 2023, ORF research). Thus, Europe, too, aims to reform the same by including emerging powers.
Trade Relations
India and the EU have previously stated interest in reforming the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region that accounts for 62 percent of global GDP. The recently announced India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) will be the driving force in the India-EU partnership. The proposal is to build an economic corridor linking these regions that will speed up trade between India and Europe by 40%. The B20, the official Business G20 dialogue forum, has been advocating for specific policies to promote bilateral trade and investment. If implemented, the future of these discussions will consist of free and fair trade, much improved direct market access, and, most importantly, the establishment of a rules-based trading agreement.
Energy transition
India and Europe are already working together on energy transition and climate change through several bilateral cooperation arrangements aimed at meeting both domestic green ambitions and global commitments. Climate change has become one of the pillars of the EU-India partnership since the Paris Agreement in 2015, which increased convergence between European and Indian perspectives.
Both sides signed a Clean Energy and Climate Partnership to provide assistance in renewable energy and smart grids. As part of its mission to harness solar energy, India and France established the International Solar Alliance (IS) in 2015. Recently, a number of new agreements have also been signed, including the India-Germany partnership on green and sustainable development and the India-Italian Strategic Partnership on Energy Transition. Through the EU-India Green Hydrogen Forum, in addition to India’s National Hydrogen Mission, India and Europe are working together on innovation in newer technologies, such as green hydrogen as a result of their success in wind and solar energy.
Through their partnerships, India and Europe have attained a new age of energy diplomacy, and the EU has become a significant partner in India’s quest toward sustainable development.
India and Europe have successfully demonstrated North-South cooperation within the G20 and across the globe, striving to be a part of increasing India’s domestic capacity.
However, since the outbreak of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the North-South cooperation has declined to default in energy commitments due to the Russia-Ukraine war, complying with European countries in other countries and diversifying away from Russian energy.
Upcoming UN summit
The UN Summit of the Future in 2024 is the best platform to continue the discussions and structure a timeline for its implementation. With the main priority given to reforming the multilateral system and giving a strategic position to India, the proposals brought forward at the G20 can be moved forward.
According to the Observer Research Foundation Issue Brief published in June 2023, there should be a push for deliberations on the involvement of the private sector in climate finance since governments alone cannot meet gaps in funding. The developed countries have pledged US$100 billion annually from 2020 to help developing countries, but they have yet to fulfill these pledges as of early September 2023.
Conclusion
Although the Russia-Ukraine war has led to India and the EU being on opposite sides, they have still made pledges to fulfill the bilateral agenda. Both sides have come up with propositions based on ‘shared values,’ but action needs to be implemented to strengthen North-South cooperation and for a faster green transition.
References
Shweta, P. (2023, September 11). G20 Summit: India must forge FTA with UK and EU for connectivity corridor to work, says Arvind Panagariya. MoneyControl
Malhotra, S. (2023) Issue Brief ISSUE NO. 643 JUNE 2023, Observer Research Foundation
A ground plan for India’s reformed multilateralism | ORF ISSUE NO. 643 JUNE 2023
Singal, N. (2023 September 10). European Union praises India’s presidency, states India preserved the G20. BusinessToday