Kamal Ghorui
The EU-India Free Trade Agreement is expected to open significant opportunities across trade, artificial intelligence and resilient supply chains, Austria’s State Secretary in the Federal Chancellery Alexander Proll said, describing the pact as a major step forward in economic cooperation.In an interview with PTI, Proll called the agreement a transformative arrangement that could benefit nearly 200 crore people by creating one of the world’s largest free trade zones. The comments came as the agreement moves towards final legal and institutional approvals.
“Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi visited Austria in 2024 because of 75 years of the diplomatic relationship and now, we have the free-trade agreement. It is the mother of all deals. I think it is a win-win situation for the whole European Union and India,” Proll said.Negotiations on the FTA were re-launched in 2022 after years of discussions, and the deal is expected to eliminate or reduce tariffs on 96.6 per cent of EU exports to India by value and 99.5 per cent of Indian exports to the EU by trade value.Proll identified artificial intelligence as a key pillar of future collaboration, describing it as “the next step after digitalisation.”“Our principle is that AI should serve for people … a human-centred AI. We build human-centred AI around people to save democracy and make innovation happen. I think that is the way we can learn from each other,” he said.Highlighting supply chains, Proll said closer economic integration should focus on balanced interdependence rather than isolation.“It is not about being isolated, it is about creating dependencies on both sides. So it is all about getting closer to each other and the FTA is one part of putting the countries more together,” he said.The agreement is currently awaiting final legal vetting and ratification by EU institutions, including consent from the European Parliament, along with completion of India’s domestic procedures. Implementation is expected within the coming months to a year.
