Meeting Sr. Emilio Menendez Del Valle, Spanish Member of the European Parliament, May 25, 2005

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and the India-European Union Forum of Parliamentarians organized a meeting with Emilio Menendez del Valle, Spanish Member of the European Union Parliament on Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at Federation House. Mr. Del Valle is a member of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, as well as of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Delegation for relations with the countries of the Andean Community. He serves as a substitute on the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Delegation for relations with Mercosur.

The meeting was attended by Dinesh Trivedi (MP, Chairman, IEUFP), Biraja Prasad (Undersecretary, Europe I, Ministry of External Affairs), and Ramesh Chandran (Executive Director, IEUFP).

Mr. Menendez del Valle was appointed Special Rapporteur on India-EU Strategic Partnership, following the launching of India-EU Strategic Partnership at the 5th India-EU Summit on 8th November 2004 in The Hague. He has recently submitted a draft 'Own Initiative Report on India-EU Relations' to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament which is presently being debated in the European Parliament. The Own Initiative Report is positive on the overall India-EU relations but, in order to project the true picture accurately, Mr. Menendez del Valle came to visit India. He was also a part of South Asia Delegation of the European Parliament to India, led by Ms. Neena Gill in November 2004.

Mr. Dinesh Trivedi, welcoming Sr. Del Valle to the sub-continent, said "India and the EU are the world's two largest democracies and it is only natural that our Parliamentarians maintain close contacts. It is a rare privilege to meet the Members of the European Parliament who are from different backgrounds and political parties. We see your visit to India as part of long association that we have established with European Parliament."

He further expressed "We are hopeful that President of the European Parliament, Mr. Josep Borrell would be able to visit India in October 2005. Our Speaker, Lok Sabha also plans to visit European Parliament in the near future."

There was a consensus among the attendees that the Fifth India-EU Summit held under the Dutch Presidency in The Hague on 8th November 2004 represented a landmark in the relationship between the two entities as it resulted in the launch of the EU-India Strategic Partnership.

Mr. Del Valle was informed of India's comprehensive positive response to the EU proposals in the European Commissions paper on "An India-EU Strategic Partnership" and that several proposals of our own had been made to add weight to the proposed Strategic Partnership.

These documents, Mr. Del Valle revealed, would together constitute the basis for both sides to work towards a comprehensive Joint Action Plan over the course of the next few months. "The text of the Joint Action Plan was being negotiated and would hopefully be ready for the 6th India-EU Summit", he said.

The decision to set up an Energy Panel to discuss cooperation in energy matters and an Environment Forum, which would include business and civil society representatives, to discuss environment issues and possibilities for cooperation, were also discussed.

The commitment of both, India and the E.U towards combating terrorism, India E.U Trade and the opportunities for scientific collaboration and transfer of technology were also raised.

Mr. Del Valle communicated that his understanding of the matters with the Indian subcontinent could help shaping and guiding the European Parliamentarian debates. He was glad that the meeting allowed him enhanced interaction with the IEUFP and thus enabled greater clarity on these issues.