NEW DELHI: The European Union has said that it was ready to accommodate more Indian IT professionals and has denounced any form of protectionism in global trade. The news comes at a time when the possibility of a potential clampdown on the H1B visa from the Trump administration hovers.
A delegation of European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs pushed for deeper trade ties with India, expressing "regret" over failure by both sides to resume the stalled dialogue to cement the long-pending EU-India trade and investment pact. Head of the delegation David McAllister said, "Europe is open for people with high demand. Indian people are highly skilled. Our IT sector would not have been successful if we did not have skilled professionals from India." He even criticised the new US government's protectionist rhetoric which triggered fears in Europe as well. One of the many changes Trump tried to push in over last month, included overhaul in work visa programmes like the H1B and L1.
On the other hand, McAllister pressed for early resumption of negotiations for the EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement. Speaking to the press, he said his delegation urged the Indian leaders to resume the talks as the pact will boost two-way trade. "We deeply regret that we are not being able to move ahead. We will use the visit to call for resumption of talks for the agreement." The delegation is also scheduled to hold talks with a number of Union Ministers, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Vice Chairman of NITI Ayog Arvind Panagariya and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, among others.
Another European Parliament Delegations for Relations with India is also in the country, and it had strongly sought resumption of talks for the trade pact during its meetings with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
