'Europe is becoming far more realistic, trade deal possible by year-end': Jaishankar on India-EU ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that Europe has become far more realistic lately and he is hopeful of India and EU improving their ties.

Jaishankar is currently in the Belgium’s capital Brussels to hold talks with the European Union (EU) leaders. He will meet EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and EU Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas on Tuesday. The trade deal under negotiations will figure prominently in their discussions.

In an interview with Euractiv, Jaishankar said that he believes that the India-US trade deal could be finalised by the end of the year.

Even though Jaishankar has praised Europe, he has maintained that some sticking points still remain in talking points that need to be addressed.

‘We have very deep reservations’: Jaishankar on EU’s climate tax

Jaishankar told Euractiv that while Europe has come around to a great extent, India continues to have “deep reservations” about EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the tax that EU imposes on products from jurisdictions where climate policies are not robust.

“The idea that one part of the world will set standards for everybody else is something which we are against…We have very deep reservations on CBAM, and we’ve been quite open about it” said Jaishankar.

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As for the churn in the EU, Jaishankar said that “Europe is becoming far more realistic” and is talking about “strategic autonomy” that India has championed for decades.

“What I hear today in Europe are words like strategic autonomy. These used to be words in our lexicon,” said Jaishankar.

As for the India-EU relationship, Jaishankar said, “We are interested in a deeper, stronger relationship with the EU and I have good reason to believe that the EU reciprocates."