The EU, Brexit and India: Adapting to changing landscapes

Britain’s vote to leave the EU sent shockwaves around the world, and nowhere more so than in the UK’s external trade relations. “Economics do not like these uncertainties” said Shishir Bajoria, Chairman of the Bajoria Group. But if and when it happens, Brexit could create as many opportunities as challenges for UK-India and EU-India relations, participants heard at a Friends of Europe debate, organised as part of the Europe India Chamber of Commerce’s Trade and Investment Partnership Summit.

With €72.5bn worth of EU-India trade and €19.4bn of UK-India trade at stake, all three partners need to think carefully about the future of their relations after Brexit. “The UK has to be a great partner for India; culturally, we understand each other”, said Madi Sharma, UK Member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The EU has also grown to see India as one of its key partners: “India is one of the EU’s four strategic partners in the Asia-Pacific”, said Veronica Cody, Head of Division for Regional Affairs, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan at the European External Action Service (EEAS). “Whatever the ups and downs in the relationship, there is a comfort in the permanence and long-standing nature of the relationship.”