Changes from plenary report to adopted text

(f) ensure that any deepening of the partnership is based on the values of freedom, democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, equality, respect for human rights social justice, sustainable development and a commitment to promoting an inclusive rules-based global order;

(g) enable parliamentary oversight of the EU’s policy towards India through regular exchanges with Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, its Subcommittees on Human Rights and on Security and Defence and other relevant committees;

(h) establish a more structured and multi-level inter-parliamentary dialogue between the European Parliament and its Indian counterparts;

(i) ensure the active and regular transparent, open and inclusive consultation and involvement of EU and Indian civil society representatives including trade unions, environmental and women’s rights organisations and minority representatives, in the development, implementation and monitoring of EU-India relations; secure, as a matter of priority, the establishment of an EU-India Civil Society Platform for this purpose and of an EU-India Youth Summit as a side event at future EU-India summits, in order to strengthen relations between the younger generations;

(j) increase the EU’s public diplomacy efforts to address the knowledge deficit on both sides and improve mutual understanding and substantially enhance the framework for people-to-people exchanges, also including academia and think-tanks;

EU-India cooperation on foreign and security policy

(k) further develop both parties’ growing cooperation on foreign and security policy and promote greater synergies in this field through existing dialogue mechanisms and other fora set up under the EU-India Roadmap to 2025, notably in the interest and for the advancement of democracy, human rights, rule of law and in defence of multilateralism and a rules-based international order;

(l) recognise that the EU-India first security and defence consultation held in June 2022 is a sign of the increasing importance of security cooperation in the partnership; draw on the posting of the first military attaché in the EU delegation in New Delhi to facilitate closer military-to-military cooperation and exchanges; hold bilateral security dialogues on an annual basis with greater involvement of EU Member States in order to strengthen the policy dialogue and produce tangible results through the effective buy-in of Member States; ensure, further, that this increasingly prominent component of the partnership effectively promotes shared security, stability and peaceful development in the Indo-Pacific region in line with the EU’s renewed commitment to diversifying relations in the Indo-Pacific region; emphasise the importance of the EU-India Counter Terrorism Dialogue;

(m) encourage India to strengthen regional security cooperation while acknowledging the volatile context of proliferation, military modernisation, and territorial disputes; promote conflict prevention and economic cooperation by supporting regional integration initiatives in South Asia, including within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC);

(n) advance on the plans to strengthen police cooperation, bearing in mind that such cooperation should be accompanied by high-level data protection safeguards and guarantees that data transfers will be lawful, including through an adequacy decision taken by the Commission;

(o) enhance cooperation on hybrid threats, particularly in the fight against disinformation campaigns, through mechanisms aiming to share evidence and intelligence;

(v) continue to closely monitor the worrying situation in Indian-administered Kashmir, in particular the respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Kashmiri people; remain committed to supporting stability, de-escalation and rapprochement through good neighbourly relations between India and Pakistan on the basis of the principles of international law and through a comprehensive dialogue and a step-by-step approach; promote the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions and the recommendations made in reports of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Kashmir;

(w) monitor closely the unresolved border dispute between India and China, who are both nuclear powers, given that in this border region the situation is fragile and there is increasing militarisation, which has the potential to intensify and affect the wider security landscape in South Asia and global security; note with concern the permanent tension in relations between India and China, due to unresolved border disputes and condemn any attempts to unilaterally change the border status quo, such as by China in 2020; underscore to both parties the critical importance of resolving the issue peacefully through dialogue and in line with the norms of international law; in this regard, welcome recent talks between leaders and the agreement to intensify efforts to disengage and de-escalate tensions along the border; welcome India’s efforts to contribute to regional stability by engaging with the region;

Human rights and democracy: from an appendix to the heart of EU-India relations

(x) effectively enshrine human rights and democratic values at the heart of the EU’s engagement with India with the aim of a constructive and results-based dialogue; develop a strategy and plan of action to address these issues, and to integrate them across the wider EU-India partnership;

(y) condemn acts of violence, increasing nationalistic rhetoric and divisive policies and call on leaders to cease making inflammatory statements in order to resolve social conflicts, including those in Manipur; continue to express serious concern, including publicly, about India’s Citizenship Amendment Act and other laws that discriminate on grounds of religion and that are dangerously divisive; encourage India to guarantee the right to freely practice the religion of one’s choice, as enshrined in Article 25 of its Constitution; counter and condemn hate speech that incites discrimination or violence against any religious minority, such as Muslims and Christians; urge the Indian authorities to take all necessary measures and make the utmost effort to halt the ongoing violence, including hate speech, against ethnic and religious minorities and certain faith-based organisations in the country and to hold the perpetrators accountable;

(z) insist that India, as a founding member of the United Nations and a current member of the UN Human Rights Council, acts on all recommendations of its Universal Periodic Review process, including by accepting and facilitating the visits of UN special procedures and cooperate closely with them, most of which have to date not been allowed to visit the country since 1999;

(aa) address at all levels of its dialogue with the Indian authorities the concerns raised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN special rapporteurs about the situation of human rights, civil society and vulnerable and marginalised groups, such as women, children, migrants and LGBTQI persons, with reference to mutual treaty obligations under various international law instruments:

(ab) emphasise the importance of India demonstrating its commitment to respect, protect and fully enforce the constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression for all, including online, media freedom and the right to peaceful assembly and association and the independence of the judiciary; encourage India to create an environment conducive to diverse and independent journalism and to protect all media professionals as provided for by its Constitution;

(ad) welcome the adoption of the Women’s Reservation Bill, which will reserve one third of seats in national and state parliaments for women and is a notable step forward in the right to participation for women and gender equality in India; engage with India on its efforts to investigate and prevent gender-based violence and discrimination and promote gender equality and women’s empowerment;

(ae) press the Indian authorities to end persisting caste-based discrimination in India and to grant rights to Adivasi communities under the Forest Rights Act; share EU experience in addressing the domestic challenges of hate crimes; adopt in particular a country strategy to help fight caste-based discrimination and to mainstream caste-related perspectives in the EU and Member State partnership with India;

(af) recall the EU’s principled and long-standing rejection of the death penalty and reiterate its plea to India for a death penalty moratorium with a view to the permanent abolition of capital punishment;

(ag) welcome the adoption by India of a national action plan on business and human rights in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; deepen cooperation with India on this, including on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and International Labour Organization conventions; recalling the responsibilities of all companies to respect human rights in their value chains, encourage India to participate actively in the ongoing negotiations on a UN binding treaty regulating business enterprises under international human rights law;

(ah) ensure that operations of EU-based companies in or with India are strictly in line with relevant EU legislation, including the future directive on corporate sustainability and due diligence and the future regulation on forced labour; take steps to ensure that all EU-related business activities involving extractive industries include a robust and fair consultative framework which conforms with the right to free, prior and informed consent of any indigenous peoples impacted; urge India to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and the Optional Protocol thereto and the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;

(ai) encourage India to further support international justice efforts by adhering to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

(aj) upgrade the EU-India Human Rights Dialogue to a bi-annual, headquarters-level dialogue and strive to make it meaningful through high-level participation, setting concrete commitments and benchmarks for progress, addressing individual cases as per the EU guidelines on human rights dialogues; facilitate the holding of an EU-India civil society dialogue ahead of the intergovernmental dialogue; strengthen the linkages between the dialogue and cooperation in multilateral fora; ensure that the European External Action Service regularly reports to Parliament on results achieved;

(ak) reiterate that any FTA with India should be based on a prior, thorough, effective and comprehensive human rights and sustainability impact assessments conducted by both sides, with particular consideration for the potential impact on the most vulnerable groups; include and consult in a meaningful manner civil society organisations, including trade unions and human rights defenders during the negotiations for any major bilateral agreement; reiterate the need to act on Parliament’s long-standing position on the importance of an enforceable and robust Trade and Sustainable Development chapter aligned with the Paris Agreement;

(al) work towards the achievement of common and mutually beneficial objectives on trade and investment that could contribute to economic growth and innovation while complying with and contributing to respect for human rights, including labour rights; promote the fight against climate change and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030;

(am) make best use of India’s commitment to multilateralism and an international rules-based trading order; promote India’s decisive role in the ongoing efforts to reform the WTO;

Connecting on climate, energy and digital issues

(an) welcome the EU-India Connectivity Partnership and the commitment it includes to supporting sustainable digital, transport and energy networks, the flow of goods, services, data and capital and the exchange of people, contributing towards the wider EU Global Gateway strategy; note that the Connectivity Partnership has become one of the most important aspects of the EU-India partnership; take note of the EU's commitment to the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment launched at the G20 in New Delhi and stress that it should be properly coordinated with the Global Gateway as well as with the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment; insist on a rigorous assessment of the sustainability and human rights impact of projects funded through the partnership, including their commercial viability and transparency, ensuring a level-playing field for businesses and respect for human rights, labour rights and environmental standards;

(ao) enhance cooperation on climate and energy issues with India as a key partner in the global fight against climate change and biodiversity degradation and in a green transition towards renewable energy and climate neutrality, with due regard to their impact on the most vulnerable; recognise that India is providing an important example for the world by showing that simultaneously combating climate change and pursuing a development agenda is possible;

(ap) lead by example on how gender equality and the rights of indigenous communities are prioritised when implementing biodiversity targets; encourage joint partnering in promoting an ambitious common agenda and global action on biodiversity; engage with India on the challenges of global commitments on deforestation, of rapid urbanisation and industrial development;

(aq) welcome India’s leadership and expansion of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, encouraging global investment and coordinated policy on climate and disaster resilience; welcome the fact that both the EU and European Investment Bank are now members of the coalition, contributing therefore to the EU-India Connectivity Partnership and the implementation of the EU Global Gateway Strategy;

(ar) welcome and call for further progress on the EU-India Clean Energy and Climate Partnership on renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate change, bearing in mind that India’s energy needs are set to more than double in the next 20 years; encourage further investment in India in order to provide secure, affordable and sustainable energy, with a view to India achieving its ambitious renewable energy targets; continue efforts to further develop EU-India cooperation on solar energy and hydrogen; engage with India on sustainable development and environmental risks, in particular with regard to green investments, air pollution and quality and management of water resources; provide technical assistance in this regard; jointly address impacts of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism;

(as) step up engagement with India on health emergencies, pharmaceuticals and digital health innovations for universal health coverage, as it is the largest producer and exporter of generic medicine and an active player on global health matters in multilateral fora; act on the commitment to strengthen cooperation on health research and innovation; increase efforts to find a swift solution, without compromising on content, to universal access to affordable pharmaceutical products;

(at) welcome the establishment and make effective use of the Trade and Technology Council; recognise the substantial potential of digital issues as part of the EU-India partnership, encompassing digital infrastructure and connectivity, digital policy, data protection and flows and cyber security; step up cooperation in high performance computing and quantum technologies, thereby enhancing technological solutions in a multitude of sectors; acknowledge that with support from India, the EU is better placed to advance global standards in the digital sector; note the differing views of the EU and India on data protection and cross-border data transfers; express concern that India links data protection with its national security, thus creating an obstacle for the alignment of Indian and European data regulation; encourage, however, work on setting shared standards that uphold privacy and data protection, provide adequate safeguards and facilitate modern trade and security relations;

(au) cooperate with India in leading the global conversation on the safe ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) and to advance human rights-based AI; encourage collaborative efforts to set international standards and guidelines for responsible AI deployment that prioritise human rights and ethical considerations;

(av) advance on a shared commitment not to selectively restrict or ban social media platforms, to limit freedom of expression online and impose blanket bans on internet and telecommunications access, while setting joint standards for the digital economy that should be rooted in human rights; express concern over reports about the Indian government purchasing and using spyware as well as of hundreds of fake media outlets and government-organized non-governmental organisations (GONGOs), including for targeting international institutions;

(aw) encourage more EU-India cooperation on science and technology, in particular by creating links between European projects and Indian initiatives in green technologies, water infrastructure and digital innovation;

(ax) facilitate further EU-India mobility, including for researchers, labour migrants, students, highly skilled workers and artists, as well as people-to-people exchanges in all sectors relevant to the EU-India partnership;

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2. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the legislative bodies and Government of India.