The Primacy of Technology: Why digital needs to be at the core of the European Union’s relationship with India

 
Speaking at a private event we held a few years ago, the former President of the European Council, Mr. Herman Von Rompuy, made an insightful comment: “Europe only and always makes progress during crises.”  It is undeniable that the world has just faced down the mother of all crises in form of the pandemic, while so many risks still abound, ranging from climate and conflicts to stagflation and supply chain disruptions.

Abhinav Kumar is the Chief Marketing & Communications Officer – Global Markets, Tata Consultancy Services. He also serves as Board Member of the Europe India Business Council (EIBC). 

Yet, as Von Rompuy wisely noted, each crisis is also an opportunity to progress on hard and often protracted issues. One such topic would undoubtedly be the longstanding Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between the EU and India, which kicked off in 2007 and after 16 rounds of negotiations were suspended since the past nine years, before being revived with great gusto recently. (...)