India and EU push to seal free trade pact before Modi's December Brussels visit

The European Union and India are racing to conclude their free trade agreement before a December deadline that aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned Brussels stop on Dec 17-18, after his participation in the G20 in Miami. The European Commission, led by trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, has urged the Council of the European Union to adopt a fast-track process and to approve the pact using the original English version, sidestepping a translation that could add more than a year to ratification.

India’s commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal is in Brussels this week to resolve remaining procedural matters, following commerce minister Piyush Goyal’s tour of Germany and the Netherlands, where he met officials such as Katherina Reiche and Levin Holle. An EU Committee on Foreign Affairs delegation, headed by David McAllister, will also visit New Delhi later in October. The agreement, announced as concluded in January 2026, would create the world’s largest free-trade zone, covering a quarter of the global population and 25 % of GDP, and is expected to be operational by early 2027.