EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin
| Photo Credit:
Meenakshi N Radhakrishnan 10143
India and the EU are expediting the legal scrubbing process for the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) text to ensure formal signing of the pact by the year-end and a possible implementation by early 2027, EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin has said While there are no immediate relaxations on EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) regulations for India, the Ambassador said the EU was committed to immediately extending to India any simplification it grants to any other country while “accelerating” EU support for decarbonisation of the Indian economy.“Both sides are working very hard to complete the process of the so-called legal vetting of the text and in such a way that by the end of the year, there will be a possibility to sign the FTA,” Delphin said addressing reporters on the sidelines of the `Annual Erasmus+ Pre-Departure Event 2026’ on Monday.The European Parliament will then have to give its consent to the deal before it enters into force and an early 2027 timeline seemed to be a realistic one for implementation, he said.Addressing Indian industry’s concerns over CBAM, under which carbon-related charges will be imposed on imports of products such as steel and cement, Delphin said any simplifications made to the framework for any other country would also be offered immediately to Indian exporters.“There will also be an acceleration of EU support in terms of the decarbonisaton of the Indian economy, which is India’s own plans, and we are very much supporting it,” he added.The EU’s EUR 500 million programme and platform to support India’s decarbonisation efforts, including hard-to-abate sectors such as steel and cement, expansion of renewable energy capacity, electricity grids, storage infrastructure and green hydrogen, is being accelerated, he said.Highlighting the scope for collaboration between India and the EU in education, the EU Ambassador noted that the EU-India Student Ambassadors’ Network launched by the bloc will h will bring together 40 “student ambassadors” from 20 Indian universities to raise awareness about European academic and research opportunities, while fostering deeper engagement about the EU-India partnership among the youth across the country.The EU also awarded 75 Indian students the prestigious two year-long Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) scholarships for the 2026–2028 academic cycle. This “cemented” India’s position as the top recipient of these scholarships since 2004 and placing it among the top three countries globally for this year’s intake, according to the EU.Published on June 22, 2026
