Seeking deeper co-operation with India, European Union on Friday said both sides need to work on eliminating tariff barriers and regulatory difficulties in their bilateral economic exchanges.
European Commission Vice President Joaquin Almunia emphasised that open exchanges can help in eliminating barriers and increase investment flows. The Commission is the executive body of European Union (EU), a grouping of about 28 countries. “We have a strategic partnership with India for many years. Now, with the new challenges and new priorities in our bilateral agenda, this partnership should be deepened,” Almunia said here.
In response to a query on the barriers in their bilateral economic exchanges, he said there are traditional tariff besides non-tariff barriers and regulatory difficulties. “There are difficulties in some cases coming from food safety regulations, in some cases obstacles to investments, in other cases obstacles coming from intellectual property rights and tariff barriers,” Almunia noted.
His comments come against the backdrop of India and EU negotiating a Free Trade Agreement. “We are very keen to reach a positive conclusion on the FTA negotiations,” he added.