On Track For FTA With EU Before End Of This Year: Piyush Goyal

India is on track to seal a long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union before the close of calendar 2025, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said today. “During the historic European Commission visit to New Delhi on February 28, our leaders - Prime Minister Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - gave clear guidance that we must conclude the EU–India FTA before the end of this year,” he added. “I’m pleased to report that we are very much on track to achieve that.”

Goyal noted that significant progress has already been made: more than half of the negotiation chapters have been finalised, and teams are roughly 90 per cent ready on market-access provisions. “Starting Monday, we will kick off intensive talks on services and rules of origin. These shouldn’t be difficult, though there may be a few areas where ministerial-level intervention is necessary,” he said.